Memories of a Dream
by Leo-Blazer
Summary: The tale of Silas, a Metagross Pokemorph who is haunted by the fleeting dreams of his forgotten past. While hunting for the answers to his strange dreams, he soon find himself to be the hunted... CHAPTER 8 up!
1. An Outcast Among Us

_Running. Running. That's all I ever remember doing. Always running through an endless forest, trying to find an exit. Sounds of leaves crunching, and twig snapping could be heard from behind me, signalling that whatever was chasing him, was getting closer. Always closer…and closer. Until…a scream rings through the dense forest_.

I bolted awake. Another one of those dreams. When will I be rid of those dreams!

Slowly getting up, I knocked my green hair from my eyes as I took a step over to the far wall of the room. Using one of my claws, I etched another marking into the wall, adding up to 13. For thirteen days, I had been having those dreams, no, they're not dreams anymore. They're more like…memories…

I didn't have long to think about that, as the sound of trucks rolling past diverted my attention. Grabbing my cloak off the rack, I slowly walked off into the alley, making sure as to not be seen. Looking up, I saw that it was another clear day.

How long had it been since I had escaped that accursed place? I had been born into this world as a Pokemorph, a Metagross-morph actually, as a captive of that evil group known as Team Rocket. After years of abuse, torture and acting as a specimen for their research, I had finally been able to escape. That was one of the last things I could remember. Everything in-between my escape and my arrival in this city was a blur.

Maybe that was what my dreams were. Maybe they were me, trying to remember about my past. But in that dream, what was I running from? Uhhh…these dreams gave more questions then they answered. If I only knew…

Pushing that thought from my mind, I started walking down the alley. I had been living in this city for several weeks, always wearing my cloak to hide my appearance. My "home", was a soon to be demolished building. That was another thing I had to do today: find another place to live.

No one paid any attention to me as I walked down the street. To them, I was just another homeless person, scrounging for a day's meal. That was how I had been living, hidden from the rest of the world. That was how most Pokemorphs lived nowadays.

Taking my usual route, I walked towards the nearest soup kitchen. I had been living off handouts for the last while, unable to work and afraid that stealing would draw attention to myself. While there, I had met some homeless people that I talked to almost everyday.

None of them knew that I was a Pokemorph, but I knew them pretty well. Joe was a washed up boxer who had given into the drugs. There was also Eric, the guy who had sold the drugs to him and had later been arrested for it. Then there was Alexis, an alcoholic who had tried to recover, but had failed miserable. Even with her constant hang-overish look, I though she was cute. They were a mix-max group, but who was I to judge.

"Hey Silas!" came a voice from a nearby table as I walked into the soup kitchen. Looking to his left, he saw Joe, Eric and Alexis sitting at their usual table. Joe was standing up, gesturing at me to sit down.

"Hey guys." Was my response as I took a seat. As I pulled the chair in, I got several "Hey." and "Hello, Silas" from several of them. Silas was one of the only things I remembered from after my escape from Team Rockets hideout. I didn't know where I got it from, just that it was MY name.

"So, how come you were that cloak ever single day?" That again. Everyday, Alexis asked the same question about my cloak and everyday I ignored her. But today, I decided that I would give her an answer.

"If I answer your question, will you finally leave me alone about it?" All I got from her was a nod.

"Fine. I wear this cloak everyday…because I have an allergy to the sun." There, that should quench her curiosity.

"An allergy to the sun?" repeated Eric.

"Ya. Even a few seconds in the sun will cause me to burn like a marshmallow on an open fire. That…is the reason I never remove my cloak." As I finished, Alexis started with another question.

"But, if it's only the sun, why don't you take it off inside?" Uh-oh. I hadn't thought of that. Had to think fast…

"I don't take it off inside…because…my face is scarred from previous exposure to the sun. That…is the reason why I'm poor. Who would hire a guy with a mutilated face?" I held my breath as I waited for it to sink in.

"That's the reason? I thought it was something different. Like you were a Poke…."

"Oh look! They brought our food!" And not a moment too soon. As everyone started to eat their food, I just picked at mine. I felt bad for lying to them, but how could I possibly tell them that I wasn't even human, but something in-between. I tried to make small talk, but the feeling wouldn't go away.

Once we were all done, I quietly stepped out as they started having an argument on who had sunk lower. I started walking down the street, thinking maybe a nice long walk would make me feel better.

A few minutes later, I arrived at the national park. Seeing an empty bench, I took a seat as a family walked by, a picnic basket in hand. As I watched them lay the blanket down, I secretly longed to have what they had. They could walk around without the constant fear of being discovered, they had people they could share their time with and they hadn't a care in the world.

After a few more minutes, I got up and continued on my walk. After over an hour of walking, I found myself in a highly populated area of the city. Most of the richest people lived here, many of which were the owners of the big business stores. I didn't think I'd find empty buildings, but I decided to look anyway.

As I walked past the huge, expensive houses, I noticed that many of the people were giving me strange looks. I guess they had reason to, for is it normal to see a homeless person walking through the swankiest part of town. Maybe I should go back…

CRASH!!!

The loud sound rang through the whole neighbourhood. Everyone, including myself, looked up to see that a wrecking ball had barrelled into a nearby building. The only problem with this…was it was a newly constructed building, several of its floors weren't even finished yet.

A crowd had already gathered around the building. Some where pointing, others looked like they were scared for their lives. Hoping to blend in, I ran up and pushed myself right into the crowd. When I was deep enough in the crowd, I asked the guy next to me what was going on.

"There's a little girl up there! She was apparently playing up there when the wrecking machine had malfunctioned and knocked right into the building. Look!" I looked where he was pointing, and gasped.

There was indeed a little girl on top of the building. The force of the crash had caused her to lose her balance and topple over. She was barely holding onto a hanging girder. What's more, was that the girder was ready to break in two. I heard her shrill scream as the girder bent a little more.

I still don't know why, but I just knew I had to save her. Something in me just said that I had to save her, no matter what. Pushing my way through the crowd, I eventually made my way to the front. Several cops and fire fighters had arrived to try and help the situation in anyway. It was then, that I broke away from the crowd straight towards the still crumbling building.

"Hey!" yelled one of the cops as I ran past him. He quickly pulled his gun out of its holster and aimed it at my right shoulder. "Stop!" When I wouldn't stop, he fired on me. He may have been surprised, to see the bullet shatter on impact. It would take a lot more then a bullet to hurt me.

The fire fighters turned at the sound of the shot, only to see me leap on top of the engine. Running up the ladder like a flight of stairs, I leapt from the top step, straight at the building. The sound of breaking glass filled the air as I broke through the nearest window, rolling on the floor and ramming into the nearest wall.

Quickly getting up, I ran to the staircase. Now know this, trying to run up 20 flights of stairs in a short amount of time is hard, but it's even harder when the whole building is falling apart around you. I had made it up several flights of stairs, when a huge chunk of the ceiling fell in on me. I dove out of the way just as it crashed into the spot where I had been moments before.

"Gotta hurry…" Deciding on a faster way, I used my strengthened leg muscles to leap high into the air, landing 2 flights up. As the place started to crumple around me, I continued to leap from floor to floor. In a few minutes, I had made it to the 30th floor.

Running onto the roof, I leapt back as a sizeable chunk fell away beneath me. As I looked at the huge hole, I heard the little girl scream right ahead of me. Stepping back, I took a running start before jumping over the pit. I just barely made it to the other side. Quickly recovering, I ran to the edge of the roof and looked over.

"Hey!" The little girl looked up at the sound of my voice. I don't know if she was relieved to see me, or if I just scared her even more. Reaching out, I gestured for her to grab my sleeve. She didn't budge.

"Don't be scared." I said in a soothing voice, " I'm here to help you." She looked up at me and said in a sweet, scared voice "P-promise?"

I nodded. "I promise." A smile crept across her face as she slowly reached for my sleeve. "That's it…just a little more…"

We were inches apart, when another shock rang through the building. This caused the girder to shake, causing her to loose her grip and slide down the girder even further. Planting my feet against the edge of the roof, I leaned out dangerously far as I reached even further out.

"Come on…just another inch…" I heard people yell below me as I leaned out even further. My sleeve brushed against the tips of her fingers as she reached forward. Suddenly, the girder snapped. The crowd below gasped as she fell thirty stories, screaming all way down. In this situation, I did the only thing I could think of. I jumped.

This caused further gasps from the crowd below as they saw me leap from the roof after her. Time seemed to slow down as I plummeted from 30 stories. Because of the strength of my legs, I was falling at a greater speed then she was. Rolling over in mid-air, I grabbed her in my arms, clutching her tight as she hanged from neck.

Looking down, I saw the ground coming up fast, giving me little time to think. I only had one option at this point. I had to use my Pokemon attacks. I had almost never used them, so I was a bit…out of practice.

Concentrating, silver metal began to spread across my entire body. This was my Iron Defence move, making my body as hard as the hardest metal. I clutched her harder as I hoped that this would be enough the protect her.

Everyone scattered as I crashed into the ground, crushing the car that had been right underneath us. For a moment, nobody moved. Then, everyone stepped back as I moved. Slowly standing up, everyone still kept their distance, until they saw the little girl still holding onto my neck. She had a few cuts from the crash, but other then that, she looked fine.

"Susie!" A man suddenly ran from the crowd. He looked like he was in his mid 30s and that he had just come out of a meeting, for he was still wearing his black business suit. Susie let go of my neck as she heard the sound of her father's voice and leapt from my arms into her dads.

"Oh Susie…you scared me half to death!"

"I'm sorry daddy. But I'm fine now, thanks to that nice boy." Her father turned to me.

"You saved the life of my daughter at the risk of your own. I can never thank you enough."

"Oh…it was nothing. No need to thank me." I leapt off the crushed remains of the car and was about to walk away, when several doctors ran up to me.

"Sir! Don't worry! We'll take you to the hospital and get you fixed up."

"But I'm fine." The doctor seemed to be shocked by my answer.

"You can't be fine! You just fell from over thirty stories, with enough force to smash a car into pieces. Every one of your bones should be broken, you shouldn't even be able to stand!" He grabbed my shoulder, but I just pushed it off.

"I told you I'm fine." With that, I proceeded to walk away. But the Doctor wouldn't leave me alone, and before I had taken three steps, he yelled, "Wait!" and grabbed the right sleeve of my cloak. A loud tearing sound could be heard, as my sleeve was torn off, revealing my turquoise armoured Metagross arm.

Immediately, I tried to hide my arm, but it was too late. Everyone had seen it. Slowly, I began to step back but I had only taken a few steps, when someone voiced my worst fears.

"He's one of those freaks of nature! Get him!" With that, I ran as fast as I could. Behind me, I heard a clicking noise, then the noise of something whizzing past my head. I looked behind me to see a big hunter like man, holding a revolver. Most of the crowd had shattered from the first shot.

Even though I knew that a revolver couldn't damage my armour, I still picked up speed. I needed something faster, something better…

Luckily for me, someone had left their car on the sidewalk. It looked like a brand new car, the paint glinting in the sun. As another bullet shot past me, I quickly climbed into the car. I had no idea how to hot-wire a car and, even if I did, I didn't have the time. Taking my claw, I rammed it into the key slot, hoping it would work as a substitute. I silently prayed as I turn the starter, with my claw acting as the key.

It worked! The engine roared into life, just as another bullet shot through the back window, imbedding itself in the front windshield. Not wanting to risk any further shots, I slammed my foot on the gas. The back tires skidded against the pavement as the car shot forward at a hundred miles an hour.

As I shot down the street, another bullet hit the car, this time hitting the bobble head hula girl on the dashboard and sending it flying through the windshield. Looking in the rear-view mirror, I saw the same guy aiming a gun at me, only this time, he was holding a shotgun and he was coming at me in a pick-up truck…with six other gun wielding hunters in the back!

"Uh-oh…This is bad!"

**End of chapter.**


	2. On the Run

I slammed the gas pedal to the floor as I tried to outrun these freaks. Weird thing for me to say, considering I was the one they were calling a freak. The speedometer read 150 MPH when another shot hit the back of the car.

I looked behind me at my pursuers. I counted seven guys in total…eight if you count the driver. They were all wielding shotguns and driving like maniacs. I was driving reckless just to get away from the, but they seemed to try and cause as much damage as they could.

I swerved to the right to avoid another shot. I knew guns like that could only do little damage to me; the car I was driving on the other hand, was a different story. If they shot the tires, I could swerve out of control and crash. Or what if they hit the gas tank? I could survive a volley of shots, but a flaming fireball of metal…not so much.

As I tried to avoid hitting a nearby stand, I weighed my options. I could try and shake them, but that could put innocent lives in danger. I laughed at this notion. Here I was, being chased by several crazed men in a truck, and I still worried about everyone else getting hurt.

Second option: Try and out run them. That could prove difficult, as Metagross weren't big in the speed department and I had been trained for power before I escaped. At this point, I found myself cursing that Team Rocket for making me what I was: something different and hated by all society.

Third option: Fight. I had been forced to train for combat, but I didn't think I could take on several loaded men on and live. Things seemed bleak at this point…

As the chase continued, I found myself entering onto the highway. Luck was on my side, as this highway proved to be vacant for the time. I floored it as I tried to outrun them. No matter how much I swerved, picked up speed or changed lanes, they continued to tail me.

With option one failing, I quickly needed a plan. Looking up, I saw the sign said "Lake. Next left." I smiled as a new plan began forming. There was a forest by the lake, so if I could make it there before them, I could loose them in the forest.

Taking the next left, I figured I was almost in the clear, when something unexpected happened. All a head was a loud pop as my back tire was shot out. With only three tires, I started to swerve out of control and off the road. As the car rode downhill, I hit something hard; probably a rock, and the car went flying through the air.

Like a scene in a movie, the car went flying through the air. Kicking the door open, I dived out just as it crashed, exploding on impact. The wave of the blast sent me flying back, landing a few feet from the flaming remains of the car.

Still shaken up from the landing, I tried to get up. The blast hadn't caused any damage, unless you counted the car. As I got on my feet, I head the sound of a horn. Looking above the remains of the car, I saw my pursuers still chasing after me!

With option one scrapped, I immediately moved onto option two: run! As I started running, I heard the sounds of "What the Hell!?!" and "Get this shit rolling, he's getting away!" and I also heard the driver yell "You won't get far you little piece of Shit!" Looking behind me, I saw that their truck was stuck in a pothole, causing them to have to hunt me on foot.

Knowing it wouldn't take them long to catch up to me, I picked up the pace. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the forest come into view, but my happiness was short lived as I heard the sound of a gunshot from behind me. Not wanting to wait for them to find me, I raced into the forest.

As I ran through the forest, I could see the sky through the clearings of the trees. It looked like it was almost dusk. If I could outrun these guys till nightfall, there was a chance they would be unable to find me in the dark of night. A small glimmer of hope began to rise up in me, as I continued to race past the trees.

"This forest seems to go on forever…" As those words left my mouth, the horrible images of my dreams came rushing back like a bullet to my brain The endless forest, the twigs snapping behind me, the terrible scream…I fell to my knees as my head started to throb from the sudden rush of images.

_I saw myself running through the forest, the dark of night bathing it in blackness. I was panting, always looking over my shoulder every ten seconds. I tripped over a root, as I was unable to see three feet in front of me. Suddenly, a strange light seemed to fill the forest._

_I turned around…to see tall towers of flames licking the night sky. Something not far from where I was had suddenly been set ablaze. I fell to the ground, tears streaming from my eyes for unknown reasons. It was then that I heard the noise of a twig snap to my left. I got back up as I heard someone yell, "I found him! He's over here!" _

_Suddenly fearing for my life, I broke into a run, trying to hide myself in the dark forest. I heard the sound of running behind me, as well as the sound of barking. They had sent the dogs out on me, hoping they would tear me limb from limb._

_I looked behind me, to see a glowing pair of eyes coming closer and closer. Before I had time to react, the huge form of a Mightyena leapt from the darkness, its fangs and claws ready to slit my throat. I let out a scream as…_

The images suddenly vanished, along with the searing pain in my head. More questions filled my head, like "Who was I running from?", "Why was I crying?" and "What was it that had burst into flames?" Like before, I didn't have answers for these questions.

As I slowly got back to my feet, I heard the sound of running. They had caught up to me and it wasn't even close to nightfall yet! Not wanting to stick around, I quickly tried to make up for lost time.

I heard the sound of another shot and the sound of several Pidgey flying away, scared from the loud noise. I needed to find the ending of this forest…Fast! As I started to run faster, as say an opening in some trees up ahead, answering my prayers. But as I ran into the clearing, my hopes ran dry.

I was not in a clearing as I first thought, but a small patch of earth before a huge river. On the other side of the river, I saw a bigger and taller forest, with a mountain clearly visible in the background.

"Oh great…now what?" I was in a bind. As many people may know, Metagross are not very good swimmers. The weight of my legs alone would cause me to sink like a rock. I knew I had to think of something; the hunters were getting closer by the second.

Then…I had an idea. I knew a move called Magnet Rise, which would allow even someone as heavy as me to float above the ground. Maybe I could use it to walk across the lake?

There were only two problems with this plan. One, I had no idea how to use Magnet Rise and, #two, even if I did know, all it would take would be one misstep, and I would sink and drown in this water. There had to be another way…

My thoughts were interrupted by another shot, this one much closer then the last. It was at that moment, that I made of my mind. I would rather try and fail then just give up! Knowing that time was not on my side, I quickly started concentrating.

Being a Metagross, I had a magnetic force coursing through me at all times. Only now, I had to figure out how to command that force at will. I tried concentrating; telling my self "I could float. I could float!"

But nothing happened. I then tried thinking of the soles of my feet, slowly lifting off the ground by the magnetic force, and floating gracefully across the water.

I felt a strange feeling beneath me feet as the thought entered my head. Looking down, I saw that my feet were indeed floating a few inches off the ground! Hearing the footsteps getting closer and closer by the minute, I decided it was now, or never.

Staring straight ahead, I slowly stepped into the water. A few ripples spread across from where my foot touched, but my foot stayed safely on the surface of the water. Lifting my other foot, I took another step, still floating on the surface of the lake.

Slowly taking it step by step, I remained on the surface of the lake. Suddenly, I heard a cry from behind me. Turning around, I saw that the hunters had caught up to me, some were gasping that I was walking on water.

Using their shock to my advantage, I broke into a run. Even running, I remained steady on the water's surface. I heard shots from behind me, then a plop as the bullets missed me and hit the lake instead. I looked behind me to see one of the men swear and throw their gun to the ground. I was in the clear!

Or, so I thought. Seconds later, the loud blare of a foghorn filled the air. Turning to the source of the sound, I saw several speedboats heading towards me. They all had the same symbol painted on their bow: a pokeball with a spear through it.

I was about to run, when I heard the sound of a piston firing. I had seconds to react, before something big shot past me, fast. I grabbed it before it sunk below the lake. Looking at it, I saw…a harpoon!? They were trying to harpoon me?!

I knew I couldn't be hurt by bullets, but I had absolutely no idea if I would survive even one shot from a harpoon. Trying again to run, I heard the sound of them fire another harpoon. I quickly dove out of the way, but I flipped over and I was falling headfirst!

Quickly, I pictured floating from the magnetic waves, but from my hands this time. Seconds before I hit the water, magnetism shot from my hands, allowing me to flip off the water, back onto my feet.

Having quickly recovered, I saw the speedboats approaching me very fast. Quickly thinking up a plan, I decided to play a little game of chicken. I started running, but _towards_ the boats. The driver of one of the boats was shocked for a moment, but quickly hit the gas as he participated in my little game.

As we both raced towards each other, the driver grabbed his harpoon gun and fired another harpoon towards me. Moving to the side, I grabbed the harpoon while it passed. With the harpoon in hand, I continued to race towards the bow of the boat. Seconds before I smashed into the front of the speeding boat, I leapt up into the air.

When I was right above the boat, I tossed the harpoon straight down. Pulled by gravity, the harpoon stuck the deck of the boat, smashing straight through to bottom of the boat. Water began to fill the hull, causing the boat to sink very quickly.

Landing back down, the driver quickly dove out as his boat sank beneath the water. With one boat down, two of the remaining three raced forward, harpoons ready. The driver of the fourth boat yelled something that sounded like "Stop!" but the other two didn't hear him.

Both boats started to circle me as they readied their harpoon guns. At the same time, both boats fired their harpoons, hoping to take me out. As the flying projectiles came towards me, I ducked.

Using my arms for support, I laid on my back inches above the water. The two harpoons passed as they sailed over me, and continued to head on course for the boats. Both drivers abandoned ship as the harpoons struck the sides of the boats, creating a huge hole in the sides of the boats that started to fill up until both those boats had sunk as well.

With only one boat left, and considering the fact that I had just taken down three other boats single handedly, the other guy decide to high tail it and run. I just stood there for a minute, expecting him to turn around and fire another harpoon at me, but nothing happened.

"Well…that was easy." With the last boat gone and the hunters unable to fire at me, I ran across the water. This led to another problem: my Magnet Rise was wearing off. I couldn't keep it going forever and if I didn't reach the shore by the time it ran out…

I tried to push that thought from my mind as I started getting closer and closer to the shore. I heard the sound of yelling and swearing from behind me as the hunters saw their catch escape. I smiled. All they had on them were revolvers and shotguns, weapons that wouldn't even make a dent in my armor. Nothing they had could stop me!

I was coming closer and closer to the shore, but it was then that the magnetic force started to decrease, as me feet slowly lowered closer to the water. Every step I took got me closer and closer to the shore, and a watery grave.

"Almost there…" I was less then five steps away from the shore, when it happened. There was no sound, just pain, as something big and fast struck my shoulder. The sudden impact had enough force to knock me from the water, onto the shore and continue rolling. I probably would have kept rolling, had there not been a tree to stop me.

Once I had stopped rolling, pain shot from my shoulder and from the bump I had just gotten. Raising my hand, I tried to locate where I got hit. As I did that, I felt something wet touch the back of my head. Raising my hand infront of my face, I gasped.

Blood. I was bleeding! Pulling up the sleeve of my cloak, I surveyed the damage.

I saw a huge bullet wound in my shoulder, blood running down my arm profusely

What ever had hit me had had enough force to not only drill its way through my armor, but had also had enough force leftover to send me flying.

Looking across the river, I saw the hunters laughing, aiming a huge sniper rifle down my way. They must have fired an armor piercing round, but those were illegal except for the military! These guys meant business!

Not wanting to be used for target practice, I ran into the forest. As I ran, I used me teeth to tear off some fabric from my cloak. Tightly wrapping it around my shoulder, it acted as makeshift gauze, stopping the bleeding.

At this point, I was running on instincts. Know that I knew they could pierce through my armor, I was scared for my life. I continued to race through the forest, hearing the sound of a tree falling from another shot. I had to lose them, before they were able to cross the lake!

I stopped for a minute to catch my breath. I need someway to escape them, but what… Suddenly, something grabbed the back of my cloak. I jumped back, thinking it was the hunters, only to hear small laughter. Turning around, I saw the purple hand-tail of an Aipom.

The Aipom was holding onto the branch, laughing its head off from its little prank, which Aipom were best known for. Then, an idea hit me. Maybe I could get this Aipom to help me!

"Hey! Aipom!" the Aipom looked up as I called its name. Being a Pokemorph, I could speak both human AND Pokemon fluently. This little guy didn't know this, as he responded with _"Who is this weirdo?"_

"_Who you calling a weirdo?_" The Aipom almost fell of the tree as I answered his question in fluent Pokemon. He quickly recovered and hanged infront of my face using his tail.

"_You can understand me?"_

"_Yes, and I'd like to ask a favor of you." _The Aipom seemed to consider it for a moment, before asking, "_What's in it for me?"_

"_Hmm…if you help me…pull a little prank on a bunch of guys, I'll give you this." _Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a slightly bruised apple. It had been knocked into my car when I had smashed through that fruit stand a while back. In the heat of the moment, I grabbed it and placed it in my pocket.

The Aipom's eyes lit up as it saw it's favorite food. Without even a second thought, it grabbed the apple from my hand and proceeded to munch on it.

"_Alright…I'll do it." _Was his response between chews. _"What do you want me to do?"_

"_You see, some guys are about to arrive at the shore. I want you to try and stall them as long as possible and, if you can, throw their guns into the lake."_

"_Gun!?! You never mentioned there would be guns!"_

"_You don't have to worry. They're only after me, and besides, their guns are only good for long distances. You'll be fine!" _He still seemed unsure, but he loved a good prank so he decided to go along with it.

As he swings away, I continued my run through the forest. Halfway through, I thought I heard the sounds of yelling and screaming coming from the entrance.

"For a little guy, he sure works fast!"

_Several hours later…_

I had been running through the forest for hours. Night had fallen and I hadn't heard the sound of those men for quite awhile. I was exhausted, having run for hours with no rest and nothing to eat. What was more was that me bleeding had continued, flowing down my arm. I needed to stop…and rest.

Then, the sound of thunder roared above me. I now needed to find someplace to stay, away from the rain. Trekking through the forest for a few more minutes, I saw something I thought I would never see.

Light, lights of a house to be more precise. It was a small house, though it looked more like a cottage. It was located on a small hill, a trails walk from the mountain, I had seen in the distance. Maybe they would let me stay the night… I was too tired to figure out a better plan, so, wrapping myself up in my cloak, I walked up to the house on the hill.

The rain suddenly kicked in, as it quickly started to pour harder and harder. Wanting to get out of the rain, I quickly made my way to the door. Raising my other arm, I knocked on the door. I heard the sound of a woman's voice saying, "Now who could that be?" accompanied by a man's voice yelling, "Coming!" Moments later, the door swung open. The man looked maybe in his 70s or 80s. He also seemed shocked to see me at the door.

"Pardon my appearance, but you could you please let me use one of your rooms for the night?" The man still looked unsure about letting me in, but he gestured me to come in anyway. While walking in, I saw a lady of about his age poke her head out from the kitchen.. His wife.

"Who is it John?"

"It's some boy who looks like he's been through some rough times. He's asking us if we could spare him a room for the night." The wife stepped out of the kitchen as her husband closed the door. She took one look at me, and seemed to take pity on me. Who could blame her?

"Why of course you can stay the night! We have a spare room upstairs, you can stay there for the night. "

"Thank…you." Was my reply as I made my way to the stairs.

As I walked across the room, the sound of dripping could be clearly heard. At first, the couple though it was just the rain dripping off my clothes. Then they looked where I had been standing not moments ago, and saw a puddle of not water, but blood.

"Boy…are you okay?" asked the woman, obviously worried for me.

"Me…I'm…I'm………" It was at that moment that, whether it was from exhaustion, lack of food, or loss of blood, my body finally gave out. My vision became blurry as the world started to swim before my eyes. My feet gave out beneath and my whole world became pitch blackness, as I lost consciousness.

**End chapter.**


	3. A Roof above his head

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. (Unless you count the games...)**

_I was once again running, but this time I was running through a hallway. An endless hallway that was filled with rows and rows of doors. Every so often, I would open a door and look in, trying to find something. As I looked in room after room, I called something out; something at I was unable to hear._

_After trying almost a dozen rooms already, I opened one to find myself, in a large bedroom. It included a queen-sized bed, surrounded by curtains with pure white pillows and sheets. It had identical curtains hanging infront of a huge window. _

_Wanting to take a closer look, I slowly walked in. The moment I stepped into the room, the door slammed shut behind me. I ran and grabbed the doorknob, trying to pull it open, but it was stuck like glue. Then I heard a rustle from behind me._

_I turned, to see the silhouette of a woman standing behind the long curtains infront of the window. For a strange reason, a kind of calm came over me as I caught sight of her. I started to walk towards her._

"_---, I finally found you."_

"_Don't be afraid. --- will always be here with you." She said in a sweet, soothing voice. As I came closer, I felt something odd, like something was wrong…_

"_---, Is something wrong?" _

"_Wrong? Everything is just perfect, and soon it will be even better…"_

"_Why's that ---?"_

"_Why? Because soon…" Before she finished, she turned around. I stopped in my tracks as she started to transform. _

_She suddenly sprang up, towering over me. Her once elegant hands transformed into long, sickly claws. Her dress started to tear as her legs started to grow, large claws replacing her feet. Horns started to poke out from her head as fangs sprang from her mouth. A line of drool dropped from her mouth as she…"It" stepped towards me. _

_I screamed as it swung at me, knocking me to my feet. I tried to back up, but it kept advancing at me. As I looked up, I saw a huge, red "R" on its chest. As it came closer and closer, it let out an evil cackle, now in a mangled voice._

"_Soon…you will be back where you belong. With us…the great Team Rocket!" It let out another cackle, louder this time. I took that opportunity to run. The once locked door suddenly swung open, allowing me to run into the hallway. _

_As I raced down the hallway, I heard the sound of the wall behind me crumbling. I didn't look behind me to see if that…"thing" was chasing after me. I had only made it a few more feet when the floor ahead of me started to crumble. I quickly stopped in my tracks as the rest of the hallway sank into nothing, barely stopping by the edge._

_I looked down to see a huge chunk falling into a deep pit, not seeming to hit the end. As I saw it fall out of sight, walls of fire suddenly shot from the pit, almost burning my face. As I stepped back, I heard heavy footsteps from behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see the Thing, trailing right behind me. _

"_You can't escape us! Soon the same thing that happened to your precious --- will happen to you!" _

_I weighed my options: jump into a pit of fire, or meet my end with this red marked creature. I decided to take my chances with the fire. Just as the Thing, came up from behind me, I jumped over the pit._

_As I passed through the wall of flames, I thought I heard a voice call out to me. I didn't have long to think of that, as gravity took over, and I plummeted into the pit. My scream echoed through into the abyss as I fell into the darkness._

I bolted awake from the nightmare. Sweat was dripping down my face, and I was heavily panting. Another one of those dreams…but this one felt different. This one felt so…real!

Once I got over the initial shock of the nightmare, everything came flooding back to me. The last thing I remembered was walking into this nice couples house, bleeding all over their floor, and minutes later, passing out. As my eyes adjusted to the lack of light, I started to notice my surroundings.

I was in a small room, with not much furniture. Other then the bed I was sitting in, I saw a small round table, a dresser in the corner of the room and a full-length mirror against the far wall. As my eyes adjusted even more, I saw something else. Something that caused me to panic a little.

Last night, I had received an armour piercing shot to my left shoulder. Now, my arm was completely bandaged up, from the shoulder all the way down to my elbow. My cloak was gone and all I was wearing was a black pair of leather pants that I took from Team rocket before my escape. As I checked over my arm, I realised that this could only have been done by the couple, but to do this…they would have had to remove my cloak…meaning that they had seen me!

What was going to happen to me now? Would I be held against my will? Would they call the people who hunted me to collect some kind of reward? Or would they just do away with me themselves?

Calm…calm…I had to calm down. Taking a deep breath, I started to think things out. If they had wanted to kill me, they wouldn't have tended to my injuries and taken me up to their guestroom. If they had wanted to keep me here, they would have tied me up or put me in a cage while I was unconscious. Also, If they wanted to call the hunters, they would have been here by now.

As I started to calm down, I saw my cloak, folded neatly on the table in the center of the room. Should I take it and run, or should I…wait…what was that smell in the air? I sniffed the air as the smell wafted into the room. It smelled like…like…Bacon!?!

The only time I had ever eaten bacon was in the city, when it was occasionally served at the soup kitchen. It was considered a delicacy to the poor, homeless people. Remembering the taste of the sweet meat caused my lips to water, drool running down my mouth. This also caused my stomach to growl very loudly, as the last meal I had was breakfast almost 24 hours ago.

Picking my cloak up off the table, I wrapped it tightly around my body. Even though I knew they had seen me without my cloak, I still didn't want to be seen without my cloak. Walking across the room, I slowly opened the door and peeked out.

I heard the sizzling sound of the bacon cooking on the oven and the sound of someone whistling. Pulling the door open, I stepped out into the hall and slowly walked down the set of stairs. The stairs creaked at each step, making me cringe each time. After a few minutes, I finally made my way down the stairs and into the kitchen.

As I walked in, I saw the husband sitting at the table, reading the morning paper, while sipping his cup of coffee. The wife was standing by the stove, cooking the bacon. The husband looked up from his newspaper as I walked into the room.

"Ahh…glad to see you're finally awake." I just silently pulled a chair out and took a seat. He grabbed his coffee and took another long sip, before speaking again.

"You know you don't have to hide yourself from us. We were the ones who tended to your wounds after you passed out." I still said nothing.

"To tell you the truth," Spoke up his wife from the stove, ",we were a little freaked out when we removed you cloak to get to your wounds. But once we saw this…" She reached into the pocket of her apron and produced a small scrap of metal. The bullet. "… we realised why you needed a place to hide for the night."

"I…I…" I was at a loss of words as let it all sink in. These people knew nothing about me, and yet they had tended to my wounds and given me a place to rest up. No one had ever done anything like that for me before…

The wife walked over to the table and placed a plate with eggs, bacon and a few slices of toast infront of me. She smiled as I looked at the plate of food and said

"You must be starving. Why don't we talk…after you've had something to eat."

I spoke out a weak "Thanks…" as I looked at the plate of food. Not wanting to refuse her kindness, I dove into the food. I tried to use my manners, but hunger overrode that sense and I was well onto my third helping before I was full, something I hadn't been for awhile. As I finished, I used the sleeve of my cloak to wipe the crumbs and mess from my mouth.

"My, my. You sure were hungry." Said the wife with a smile.

"Well…it's been a long time since I've had anything like this to eat." I took a drink from my glass of water as I decided what to do next. These people had not only tended to my wounds, they had also given me a place to stay and something to eat. I couldn't just leave…

As I tried to figure out what to do next, the husband spoke up. "You must have been through some rough times. What happened to you?" He realised too late the mistake he had made.

I remained silent as he asked this question. Slowly, the wife walked over to me and put her hand on my shoulder, causing me to look up.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to. We just want you to know that you can stay here as long as you want."

I tried to show a smile at her kindness, but I still had a lot of things to think about. I just sat there as she gather up all the dishes to put in the sink. After a few minutes of just sitting there, I heard the man walk out the door. Looking out the window, I saw the man chopping some firewood in the front yard. I needed something to take my mind off what had happened, so I decided to help him.

Slowly getting up, I made my way to the front door. Walking out, I raised my arm to shield my eyes from the bright sun. He noticed me as I walked towards him and stopped cutting the wood to talk to me.

"Come to get some air?"

"Ya…" I quickly replied.

"Look…I'm sorry for what I said. It's none of my business on what you're going through. But…I don't even know your name."

"Silas. It's Silas."

"Well…Silas, I'm John." He extended his hand in handshake gesture. I was reluctant to, but I slowly reached out and shook his hand. Once that was taken care of, he went right back to cutting wood.

"Need any help? It's the least I can do for the kindness you've shown me."

"Are you sure you can wield an axe with your bad arm?" Ignoring him, I picked up the spare axe with my free hand. Placing a log upright, I brought the axe down in one, quick motion, slicing straight through the piece of wood.

"…I think I can manage." He was speechless for a moment, as most people would need to use both arms to wield an axe like that. Not even refusing my help, he went right back to cutting wood, with my help.

After almost a half-hour, we had cut a huge supply of wood, maybe enough for several months. The only problem was…that the wood was now in a huge pile and would take several trips just to get it to the shed in the back of the house.

"Got any ideas Silas?"

"One." Raising my right arm, I directed it towards the pile of wood. My once red eyes took on a bluish glow as I prepared my Psychic move. A blue aura surrounded me as a wave of psychic energy shot towards the pile.

The wood suddenly became surrounded by a blue aura identical to mine. Raising my arm, the wood started to slowly float off the ground, following the motion of my hand. Moving my arm to the side, the wood started to float towards the back of the house.

Like a conductor, I directed the wood towards the back of my hands. With a quick wave of my hand, the wood suddenly started to pile up, until they were all stacked in a neat pile by the shed. The blue aura disappeared as I let up on the psychic energy.

"Will that do?"

"That'll…do just fine. Nice work."

"Thanks…" I turned to leave. I had to get out of here before the hunters came back! But before I had even taken three steps, John stopped me.

"Wait! Before you go, I want to show you something you should see."

"No, no. I couldn't. You've done enough for me."

"Nonsense! Come on!" Without another word, he started walking towards the forest. Not knowing what else to do, I decided to follow him.

He seemed to know this forest like the back of his hand, as he took each path without a second thought. As I followed behind him, a stray branch snagged on my hood, yanking it off my head. My cloak was in disarray, torn in different places and covered in dirt and mud. If I only knew how to fix it…

"Well, here we are!" exclaimed John suddenly. As he parted a pair of branches, I gasped at what I saw. He had brought me to a cliff that over looked the nearby forest and mountain. The forest seemed to shine in the light of the sun and the snow on the mountain seemed to sparkle. I looked like something out of a painting.

"W…wow…" I had never seen anything so beautiful before in my life.

"Beautiful isn't it? I always find that coming up here always gives me a sense of calmness."

"Yes…" Suddenly, I senses something odd. Like I had…seen this before…

Joe sensed something was wrong and asked, "Is something wrong Silas?"

"It's nothing. Just…I get a strange sense of Déjà vu from this. Like, I've seen this exact scenery befor….AHHHH!" Once again, pain shot into my head as images flooded into my mind. I fell to my knees, as the pain became almost unbearable.

"Silas! What's wrong?" John rushed to my side, trying to help me. Suddenly, the world around me started to change, as the images started to play themselves out infront of my eyes.

_Like before, I was running. My memories always seemed to involve me running from something. Again, I was running through a forest, but I saw light streaming through the gaps between the trees. _

_I heard the sounds of footsteps behind me and the sound of someone yelling. I heard at least three, no, four guys tailing me. As I continued racing, I tripped over a stray root. As I hit the ground, my sleeve slid off my arm. I looked up to see my arm covered in blood, so much blood that my armour was almost stained red._

_Not even seeming to be phased by the huge patch of blood on my arm, I quickly picked myself up and continued running. As I raced past the rows and rows of trees, I heard the sound of a gunshot ring through the trees. Several more shots of gunfire accompanied it._

_After several more minutes of running, I saw an opening in-between the trees. I didn't know what was beyond it, but I decided to take my chances. With a burst of speed, I broke out through the opening in the trees, stopping abruptly as I looked at what lay before me._

_I was looking over a huge cliff, standing over a huge forest. I heard the sound of water running and looked over to see the stream I had been following running off the edge, becoming a full-blown waterfall. I was about to turn around, when I heard the sound of rustling leaves. _

_I turned to see several Rocket grunts standing before me, each holding some kind of strange weapon. They were blocking my path, making sure I had nowhere to run. One of the grunts, the head grunt, stepped towards me._

"_Project M36, give up. There's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. If you come back with us peacefully, we might cut your experiment time to almost half. What do you say, M36?"_

_I clenched my fists as an unknown anger started to boil up inside of me. I hated this guy, I wanted him dead!_

"_My name is Silas…" I said under my breath._

"_Excuse me?" he responded._

_I said nothing for a moment, before I repeated in a booming voice, "MY NAME IS SILAS!!!" My rage could no longer be contained, as I charged towards them. I bared my claws as they raised their weapons, both of us were ready to take out the other…_

The images suddenly stopped. Sweat was dripping down my face as I tried to use my arms to support myself. John was beside me, worried.

"Silas…are you okay?"

I was panting as I tried to answer his question. "Yes…I'm…fine…" Who was I fooling? I was far from all right! I had been standing by a cliff, looking out at the great view and I had suddenly screamed and fell to the ground!

"Silas…what was that?"

"I think…I think I'll take you up on your offer to stay. At least for a little while..."He seemed to smile at my decision.

"Alright. Let me help you up first." He reached out with his hand, which I grabbed onto. With his help, I was able to get up, even though I still had a slight headache from the sudden rush if images. With more questions filling my head, we started are walk through the forest, back to the house.


	4. What's in a name?

I looked up at the ceiling as I tried to make sense of what was happening. We had returned to the house some time ago. I still had a slight headache, so I just walked upstairs into the room while John talked with his wife, who I now knew as Mary.

The images of my most recent memory flash were still fresh in my mind. I remember being chased through a forest, then cornered by a cliff. The most recent memory was probably triggered by the sight of the cliff overlooking the forest, much like the one in my memory.

The most vivid thing in my memory…was my anger. I did hate Team Rocket, but not with the murderous intent that I had seen in the flash. Then…there was the blood…whose blood was it? Was it my blood? Or was it someone else's? Did I, perhaps in my rage…kill someone? All these questions, and more, were flying around in my head, trying to figure out an answer to.

I was jarred from my thoughts as I heard the door to the room open. I turned to see the wife, Mary, standing in the doorway. I sat up in the bed as she walked in. She seemed to have as much on her mind as I did.

"I'm sorry to bother you but…" She stopped as she tried to figure out what to say next. "John says you've decided to stay…" This seemed to be more of a question then a statement. I just nodded my head yes, which caused her to sigh. I couldn't tell if it was in relief…or worry.

"Is something wrong?"

She tried to avoid eye contact as she answered. "It's just…I'm glad you've decided to stay…but I'm…I'm worried about you."

I was speechless. She had barely known me for a day, and she was worried about me…I didn't know how to respond…

"John told me about what happened at the cliff side. He said you suddenly seemed to be in extreme pain, then refused to talk about it afterwards. If something's wrong…" She stopped, waiting to see how I reacted to this before continuing.

I remained silent for a few minutes before finally answering. "I'm sorry for worrying you. It's just…a lot has happened to me lately, and I'd rather not get you involved."

She seemed to agree with me, as she turned to leave. As she walked from the room, she turned to say, "If you ever get up to talking about it, we're always ready to listen."

You had to admit, she was persistent. As she left, I went back to my thoughts, still trying to find even a single answer. Perhaps I should tell them… If I told them about my dreams, maybe they could help me find the answers to the many questions I still had. But if they couldn't…it may just lead to even more problems…

I pushed that thought from my head as I continued running the many images of my dreams through my head, hoping to maybe find some hidden answer. Time became meaningless as I watched the events of my past, running over and over again.

After what felt like forever, I still hadn't found any meaning to my dreams. I looked up and saw through the window of the room that several hours had passed. The sun was setting, causing the sky to turn a beautiful shade of orange. I needed some air, so I decided to go for a little walk.

Slowly getting up, I walked out of the room and down the stairs. I saw John sitting in the living room, reading his newspaper again. Mary was in the kitchen again, making what I guessed was dinner. She heard me come down the stairs and turned from what she was making.

"Going for a walk?" It's like she could read my mind, which bothered me a little. I quickly answered, "Yes…" Before I walked out the door. I already said that I would stay for another day or so, so she didn't ask me anything further.

The setting sun cast the sky a bright orange. I marvelled at how even the simplest environment out here, looked like something out of a painting. I would love to stay here, were I not currently hiding out from most of the world!

Still marvelling at the beautiful sky, I started to take a walk through the forest. I heard the silent chirping of some nearby Pidgey and the sound of the nocturnal animals starting to stir. I looked up to see a family of Taillow in their nest, getting ready to sleep for the night.

It was at that moment that I once again started to long for a family. John and Mary seemed nice enough…maybe I could stay with them…No. If I stayed with them, the hunters may come back and they could get caught in the crossfire.

I stopped as the sun started to set even farther behind the horizon. I decided to rest for awhile before going back. I found a nice tree and rested underneath it as I stared up at the beautiful scenery. The setting sun started to have a hypnotic effect on me, as my eyes slowly started to droop. I tried to stay awake, but nothing I tried worked and before I knew it, I had fallen fast asleep.

_This dream was different then the others. In this one, I wasn't running. Instead, I found myself waking up in a soft bed. I looked around and saw that I was in a big and fancy room. _

"_Ah…I see you're awake."_

_I turned to the source of the sound and saw a woman standing by the doorway. Her face seemed to be covered by a veil of shadows, making me unable to see it. I cowered back as I saw her._

"_Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you." I was still unsure about her, but right now I needed to find out where I was._

"_Where am I?"_

"_You're in my house. I brought you back here from the forest."_

"_The forest?"_

"_Yes. You were passed out in the middle of my forest when I found you. With Pringston's help, I was able to get you back here."_

"_Pringston?"_

_To answer my question, she grabbed a Pokeball that had been sitting on the table. Throwing it up into the air, a blast of crimson energy shot forward. Seconds later, the form of a Hariyama appeared next to her._

"_This is Pringston. He's the one who carried you here when I found you. What were you doing in the forest anyway?"_

"_I…I…" I still had no idea who this woman was, and I wasn't about to tell her that I was an escaped experiment of Team Rocket and that I had been running for my life! Which reminded me: Why wasn't she freaking out? _

_Before I could think of that any further, she spoke up. " If you're wondering why I rescued you, it's because you're not the first Pokemorph to come running through the forest."_

_I looked up, somewhat shocked. "You've seen others!?!"_

"_Yes, they come running through here all the time. But you're the first one to have passed out in the forest. What's your name?"_

_I remained silent for a few moments before answering, "I don't have a name…I was just always refereed to as "Project M36"._

"_Well…that won't do. You'll need a name…hmmm…" She seemed to be in deep thought for several moments, before speaking again._

"_Since I found you in the forest, I think your name should be Silas, meaning "one of the forest"._

"_Silas…" I repeated the name. It kinda bothered me that she had just named me like I was some kind of pet, but I had gone my whole life without a name…It felt weird to finally have a name, something I could call my own…_

"_Give it time…" Figuring I needed time to think about it, she stepped out of the room, Pringston in tow. As she left, I once again repeated the name._

"_Silas…"_

I suddenly bolted awake, for real this time. As I remembered the events of the dream, I looked up to see a sky full of stars. I must have fallen asleep for at least an hour or two. John and Mary must be wondering if I was going to come back or if I had left for good. Not seeing any reason too stay, I got up and started…

I stopped, as the sound of a twig snapping echoed through the silent forest. I remained still for a moment, wondering if it was just my imagination, before I heard it again.

Thoughts started to fly through my head at a hundred mile an hour: Should I run? It could be the hunters. But if it was the hunters…what if they went after John and Mary! I decided to figure out what it was before I decided on my next course of action.

Silently stepping through the rows of trees, I stopped again as I heard another twig snap to my far left. That was soon followed by something I recognised: someone yelling. Changing direction, I headed in the sound of the voices. In a few minutes, the voices started getting louder and louder until…

I hid behind the nearest tree as I saw them in the clearing. It was the hunters all right, and this time, they were armed to the teeth. They all had one or two guns ready, at least. I saw several of them with rows of bullets strapped to their chests, and the others were armed with grenades. To avoid detection, they were travelling on foot and in the dark of night, meaning these guys weren't as stupid as they looked.

"Where is he!" one of them suddenly yelled. I recognised him as the one who had first spotted me in the city. "I told you we should have started looking at the crack of dawn!"

"Quiet." I looked to see a man coming from behind the trees, a Houndour following right behind him. Sweat started to roll down my face as I recognised him as the one that had fired the armour piercing round into my shoulder.

"Why should I! That freak could be hundreds of miles form here by now!"

"He's not. That shot hit right in his left shoulder. Unless he could get help, which I doubt he could, he would have only been able to get so far before he passed out from loss of blood. Besides, Metagross aren't meant for speed."

This guy gave me the creeps. He spoke with almost no emotion in his voice, except for…the emotion for the love of the kill. What was more, he was smart. He knew that I was a Metagross-morph, he knew that the armour piercing round wound run straight through my armour and that I wouldn't have gotten far before I passed out. What was more, he had a Houndour with him, one of the only Pokemon I ever feared.

Metagross were a psychic/steel type, while Houndour were the complete opposite: dark/fire. Not only would my Psychic move have no effect, but his fire attacks would melt through my armour like a hot knife through butter. I had to get out of here…

"And besides…we have an eyewitness who saw where he went." This caused my throat to choke up. A witness? What witness? The only other guy I talked to was…oh-no! My fears became realised as he held up a cage so everyone could see. Nestled inside, beaten and bruised, was the little Aipom that I had asked to distract them the night before.

"This little guy saw the freak as he ran. Thanks to some…persuasion… he told Darkbreath where he was going. Show them Darkbreath." Gesturing to his Houndour, it stepped right beneath the cage. Breathing in, it let out a stream of flame that licked the bottom of the cage. Aipom started to jump up into the air as the bottom of the cage became red hot, burning the soles of his feet.

The man started to laugh, an action that caused my blood to boil. This guy was enjoying causing pain and suffering to this defenceless little Aipom! I had to stop myself from running up to him and beating him senseless, an action that would probably get me killed along with the Aipom. I had to think of something…but first…

Raising my right arm, I started to use my Psychic move. I picked up several rocks from around me and from behind the hunters. With one flick of my wrist, the stones went flying through the air, making as much noise as they landed in different spots far into the forest.

"What was that?" yelled one of the men. He grabbed his gun from his back and started waving it around. The others started to react as the heard six other noises ring through the forest. The men were in total chaos, before the main guy snapped his fingers, causing his Houndour to let out a stream of flame from his mouth, almost burning his own men.

"Shut up all of you. You two…" he pointed at the men closest to him, "…investigate the sound in that direction. Darkbreath and me will check out the sound from the opposite direction. You…" Without another word, he tossed the cage towards the last guy, who nearly dropped it. "…watch him." With that, all four of them ran off, leaving the last guy behind, alone.

My plan worked better then I expected. Now that the leader and his Houndour, Darkbreath, were gone and now only one guy remained. It would be easy to get Aipom back, I just had to act before the others realised that it was a hoax and came back.

Quickly acting, I moved from my position, to a spot behind the remaining hunter. I only had one shot at this, so just in case…I once again used my Iron Defence move, hardening my body even more. The move would only last a few more moments, so I had to act now!

Running from behind the trees, I raced towards the remaining hunter. He quickly turned, but he was unable to reach his rifle because of the cage in his hand. Before he could drop the cage, or even yell for help, I smacked him hard against the head. I hit him so hard that he was knocked out almost instantly and probably suffered a concussion.

The Aipom started to chatter as he saw me. I quickly told him to shut up before the others returned. Using my claw, I ripped open the top of the cage, freeing the little guy.

"_Oh thank you, oh thank you!"_

"_How did they catch you anyway?"_

The Aipom looked at the ground, as if he was ashamed. He soon answered, "_They…they offered me an apple."_

I sighed. Aipom would do anything for an apple, even get caught by a crazed hunter. _"Well…you'd better get out of here before they come back."_

The Aipom quickly agreed with my idea, as he ran off and was soon hidden back within the trees. As I saw him disappear, I heard the sound that I had most dreaded. Footsteps, getting closer and closer. Not wanting to get caught, I quickly raced off into the forest.

Now that I knew that it was the hunters, I had to warn John and Mary, and fast. Once they found their guy unconscious and Aipom missing, they would certainly come chasing after me.

In a few minutes, I had reached the cabin, just as I heard a gunshot ring through the forest. Pulling the door with such force I almost yanked it off its hinges, I ran inside, slamming the door shut behind me. John and Mary looked up as I entered.

"Ah…I see you've finally come back. Dinner is almost…"

"There's no time for that! We have to get out of here, now!" Mary stepped back at my sudden outburst.

"Silas, what's going on?" asked John.

"The hunters…they're coming!"

"Hunters…what hunters?" Her question was soon answered as another gunshot rang through the air.

"The same hunters who tried to kill me with that armour piercing round. If we don't get out of here soon..." I shuddered to think of what would happen.

"I'll call the police." Mary quickly ran over to the phone as another shot echoed through the air. I took a glance out the window and saw the forest…or what remained of it. Most of the forest was covered in flames, turning the forest into a pile of ash. I saw three of the men run from the remains of the forest, one was holding a grenade in his hand, ready to throw it.

"Get down!" I grabbed John and Mary and dived into the living room as the grenade exploded. The windows were destroyed instantly, spraying broken glass everywhere. The door had almost been blown off, barely holding on. The force of the blast had knocked the phone from the table, the phone still ringing off its hanger.

I slowly got up, avoiding the broken glass. John and Mary were all right, with just a few bruises and cuts from the flying glass.

"We have to get out of here!"

"You go, we'll stay." I was dumbfounded by John's answer.

"Are you insane! They'll kill you!"

"Maybe not. It's you they're after. If we can stall them long enough for you to get to the mountain, they won't be able to follow you. Besides…" Walking across the room, he pushed his chair out of the way, revealing a hidden door. Yanking the door open, I gasped at what I saw.

The door opened up to a small room. Filled with rows after rows of guns. I saw pistols, revolvers, shotguns, hunting rifles and the bullets that went with them. John grabbed a hunting rifle, quickly loading it infront of my eyes.

"…I think we can take care of ourselves. Now go!"

Not wanting to leave them, but also not wanting to disobey a man holding a gun, I ran over to the door. I looked behind me for one last look at the people, who were risking their very lives to save me, before I raced out the back door, into the night.

**End Chapter.**


	5. Fighting till the end

_To answer you question _**Delta Knight,**_ thats just the canadian way of spelling things._

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon**

I was once again on the run, trying to make it to the mountain. As I raced towards the forest, I heard the sounds of splintering wood and gunshots from behind me. I looked behind me once again, to see another grenade go off, blowing away most of the front of the house. That was soon followed by more gunshots.

I tried to block the sounds out as I raced into the forest. I ran under and pushed branches out of my way as I tried to get deeper and deeper into the forest. More branches tore into my cloak, almost tearing it to shreds.

After a few more minutes of running, I stopped to catch my breath. The sound of gunfire could still be heard ringing through the air. My emotions soon got the better of me as I almost knocked down a tree in anger.

I didn't know what I should do. If I ran, I may escape, but John and Mary would probably…Tears started to stream down my face as I thought of them dying because of me! But what could I do? Even if I could beat a few of the hunters, there was still Darkbreath to handle with. None of the moves I knew would help me against him…What was I going to do?!

Then, the sound of an explosion rang through the air. I turned, to see a huge fireball fill the air, as the house started to burst into flames. The images of my dreams started to run through my head, as history started to repeat itself, along with my dreams.

_I once again turned, to see something burst into flames. I now knew that it was a house that was now inflames. Again, I broke into tears as I saw the house become consumed by the dancing flames. Then, the sound of someone's voice came from around me, causing me to once again run._

_As I raced off further into the forest, I took a quick look behind me. I saw a pair of yellow eyes following me, as a Mightyena raced behind me. Before I could put distance between me and the rapid dogs, the nearest one leapt at me, its claws and fangs ready to tear out my throat. I screamed…_

_Instead of stopping like before, the images continue. The Mightyena tackles me to the ground, snarling as it tried claw at my face. Both my arms were pinned by the beast's paws, so I did the only thing I could. I kicked it hard into the chest, knocking it away. As I got up, the Mightyena once again leapt towards me._

_Time seemed to slow down as something happened I didn't expect. My right arm started to glow, as metal started to spread across it. The air seemed to ripple as I launched my fist at a great speed, while everything else moved in slow motion. Seconds later, I hit my mark._

_The force of the hit was so great, that the Mightyena was thrown through the forest like a rag doll, crashing into a nearby tree. I stood there, shocked for a moment. My hand moved so fast and had hit with such force…it was almost like a meteor…No…It was Meteor mash…_

The images suddenly stopped. I remained motionless for a moment, before I slowly raised my right arm. Clenching my hand into a fist, I once again started to concentrate. Like in my memory, steel spread across my arm, covering it completely. With one, quick motion, I knocked the tree closest to me right in half.

This was Meteor mash, one of the most powerful of all the steel moves. A smile started to spread across my face as I decide on my next course of action. Without even a second thought, I turned around and headed straight for the house.

A few minutes later, I returned to the house. The flames had spread, but most of the house was still intact. Sneaking behind the house, I looked in through the remains of the back door. I saw the crazed man, laughing as Darkbreath started setting fire to remains of the building. The other hunters were standing around him, also laughing.

I then saw John and Mary, tied up in the centre of the room. They were beaten, bruised and helpless, but they were alive. Mary was crying as she tried to negotiate with the hunters.

"Why are you doing this? We have done nothing wrong!"

"Oh, but you have. You tried to house and protect one of those freaks, something that is almost as bad as the freaks themselves. For your crimes, you will both be burned along with your house." He motioned to Darkbreath, who created a ring of fire around them, almost burning them.

"But why are you hunting him? What has he even done to you?"

The hunter slowly walked towards them, looking straight into her eyes. "What has he done? His only crime…is existing. Pokemorphs are freaks of nature, going against what God intended. I am simply correcting a mistake."

"That doesn't give you the right to kill him! You think you're a saint, but you're nothing but a monster!" With that, she spat in his face. With a look of anger on his face, he grabs his gun from its holster and pistol-whipped her across the face. The other hunters start to cheer at this action.

My anger started to build as I saw the events unfold. This guy thought that he was helping the world, when all he was doing was killing for the fun of it! Mary had hit the nail on the head when she called him a monster. As I saw the flames continue to spread, I started to formulate a plan.

Taking of my torn cloak, I quickly laid it on the ground as I started to fill it up with stones. When it was full enough, I started to lift it up using Psychic. Like a puppeteer, I started to move the body of rocks towards the door. With a swift kick of its "leg", it kicked the door in.

All the hunters turned as they saw a cloaked figure slowly step in. Without a second thought, they started emptying their rifles at the figure. After several moments of shooting, the men ran out of ammo. At the same time, I released my psychic hold, causing it to fall to the ground.

Still looking in through the remains of the door, I saw one of the men step forward to examine the "body". If I had a camera, I would have taken a picture of the look on his face, as he picked up the bullet-ridden cloak and saw rocks tumble out. As he turned around and yelled, "It's a trap!", I leapt into action.

Quickly running out from behind the door, I swiftly kicked him on the side of his face, sending him flying. Several grenades rolled out of the their strap. I quickly picked them up, ready to use them if needed.

The hunters were shocked for a moment, before grabbing their guns and starting to fire. Or rather, they would have fired had they not used up all their ammo on my stone dummy. Before they could reload, I was on them.

Using Magnet rise, I leapt above them, drop kicking the closest guy into the ground. As he lay their, unconscious, the other hunters grabbed their knives from their belts. One of them charged towards me, yelling a battle cry.

As he came towards me, I dodged to the left, kicking his legs out from under him. As he fell to the ground, I stopped him with Psychic. With a flick of my wrist, he was sent flying past the others, and straight into what was once the hallway before flying straight through the nearest wall. The other hunters remain, afraid to the advance. I motion for them to come at me, silently saying, "Come and get me…"

The remaining hunters took up my challenge, as they charged towards me with their weapons drawn. Like a master, I leapt into the air, spun, and sent the nearest guy flying with a spinning kick. As two others came closer, I threw the grenades I was still holding up into the air, catching their knives as they brought them down.

Using the knives to keep me up, I kicked my legs up and slammed both the hunters in the chest. The force of my kick caused them to let go off their knives, and as they went sailing back into the hall. I used the force of my kick to backflip off them and land a few feet back, catching the grenades as they came falling back down.

With the hunter lackeys gone, I was ready to finish this when I heard a scream. I turned to my right to see the lead hunter, holding Mary like a human shield. A knife was pressed firmly against her neck.

"Give up or I slice her neck!" was his response as he clutched Mary tighter. I looked back and forth between him and Mary. If I gave up, he would kill Mary anyway, and me along with her and John. But if I continued, he would kill Mary and John in cold blood. What to do…

Slowly, I dropped the grenades and the knives, which clattered to the ground. I said with an air of defeat in my voice, "I surrender. Just please, don't hurt her." The leader started to smile as he saw me give up. He withdrew his knife, but still held onto Mary incase I tried anything.

He started to laugh as he advanced. "Did you really think you could win? I have the power of the lord on my side, so there was no doubt that I would prevail!" As he came closer, he drew his pistol from his belt, aiming it at my forehead.

"Now, time to finish this." As he pointed his weapon towards me, he didn't notice as a smile spread across my face. Metal started to spread around my hands as he loaded the barrel, clicking it into place. With one quick motion, he fired.

The bullet shot from the barrel, striking me right in my face. Suddenly, I bent my head back, revealing the huge metal X on the front of my face. The bullet hit the metal x, ricocheted, flying past him and into the wall.

Shocked by this, he didn't have enough time to react as I used Meteor mash. I hit him right in the gut, causing him to let go off Mary. I heard the sound of bones breaking as several of his ribs cracked. He was sent crashing into the wall behind him.

This action caused Darkbreath to attack. Before, he had been waiting for his master's command, But seeing his master attacked like that, he was driven into a frenzy. Full of anger, he let loose a stream of flames from his mouth. I quickly fell to the floor, as the flames shot above me.

As the flames continued to shoot above me, I tried to figure out a way to get out of this without getting burned, and I had to do it fast, as the flames were starting to spread even more. It was then, that I saw one of the grenades nearby. Slowly reaching out, I snatched up the grenade before the flames reached it. I was about to pull the pin, when I heard the sound of clanging metal, and the flames stopped. I looked up to see Mary, standing over the unconscious Darkbreath, with a frying pan in her hand.

"Thanks." I said as I got up. Suddenly, a bullet shot past my head. I turned to see three or four new hunters standing at the door, each holding a rifle. They must have heard all the racket and come in to see what was happening.

As another shot whizzed past me, I looked at the grenade in my hand once again. It was then that an idea hit me. Taking the grenade, I used my teeth to rip out the pin. Throwing it into the air, the grenade rolled onto a banister as the timer on the grenade reached zero.

A huge explosion rocked the house. The hunters looked up, just in time to see a huge ton of flaming wood fall from the ceiling, burying them. The explosion had caused every piece of the house to be set ablaze.

I quickly ran over to John, who was still tied up in the corner. His ankle was swollen, making it hard to walk. I grabbed his left arm, while Mary grabbed his right and we both helped him out of the collapsing burning building.

Once we were outside, I used my claw to cut the ropes, freeing him.

As I cut the rope, he started to speak. "Why did you come back? We told you to run!" I couldn't tell if he was angry or worried.

"I couldn't let you die because of me. I would never have been able to live with myself."

He remained silent for a few minutes before speaking again. "Well…we're both glad that you came back to help us. I don't know what would have happened it you hadn't come back."

I got up to survey the remains of the house. "Where are you going to live now?"

"I'm sure we could find someplace to live." Spoke up Mary.

"I hope so…"

"And when we do, we'd like you to live with us." I did a double take to make sure I had heard her right.

"Live with you? But these hunters came because of me. If you two had never met me, none of this would have happened!"

"But that wasn't you're fault. What's more, you risked your life to try and save us. To us…that makes you a good person."

I started to smile at the thought of living with them. For the first time in my life, I was…happy. I felt like I was on the top of the world, that nothing could ruin this moment!

The only warning I had, was a small click from behind us. I turned, to see the lead hunter, holding a rifle in his hand. His clothes were burned and he was covered in a mixture of soot and blood from head to toe. He looked like something out of the pits of hell.

He had an evil grin on his face as he loaded the gun. As his finger reached for the trigger, he screamed at the top of his lungs, "DIE FREAK OF NATURE!!!!"

In one quick motion, he pulled the trigger, a loud bang erupted from the rifle.

The pain was indescribable as the bullet burrowed its way through me. Blood started to pour from the wound, as well as fill my lungs. I covered my mouth as I coughed, blood running between my fingers.

The world around me started to fade as the life was slipping from me. The world vanished, replaced only by sounds. I heard the sound of his maniacal laugh. I heard the sound of Mary's scream. Then, the sound of more gunshots. As it all started to slip away, I heard the sound of bells in the distance. Wait…those weren't bells…they sounded more like……sirens…

**End Chapter.**

_Believe it or not, this is _**NOT** _the end!There is still more to come so expect more soon!_


	6. A Hidden Past revealed

_Nothing. The whole world had collapsed into nothing around me. Even in my dying state, I found myself wondering, "How did it come to this?" I had saved the only people who had ever cared about me, from a homicidal maniac. They had then promised me a place to live, a place I would be away from those who hated me_.

_The world had looked up for me, until it had all come crashing down around me. Somehow, the crazed man had been able to escape from the burning building, still holding his rifle. I had little time to react, before…_

_Even in my weakened state, I tried to open my eyes. I couldn't see anything through my eyelids, and sounds had ceased to reach my ears. Slowly, my eyes opened up, and what I saw made me gasp. _

_I don't know who it was, but someone had once told me, that when you die, your whole life flashes before your eyes. I had never believed the statement, saying it was pure fantasy. But now, I found myself finding out the answer to that statement…the hard way._

_I saw myself in what looked like a tunnel of light. As I hurtled through the tunnel, drawn by an unseen force, I saw what looked like panels of glass flying past me. I looked at the nearest one, and saw the image of me, punching the hunter in the gut with my meteor mash. A smile started to spread across my face at the site of this._

_Another panel flew by me, this time showing me saving the little captured Aipom. The next one showed me and John standing by the cliff. Each panel showed an event previous to the last one. It was like… my life was a movie and someone had hit rewind._

_After a few minutes (or what felt like minutes), the panels were starting to go further and further back. Suddenly, a panel ahead of me broke off from the usual path, growing in size and stopping ahead of me. I braced my self for impact, which never came. Instead, the mirror started to ripple like water as I touched it, passing right through it. The light faded, as I entered, into the panel…of my memory._

As I appeared, I looked around to try and figure out where I was. It was the middle of the night, making it hard to see, but I still recognised almost immediately were I was, which made me wish I hadn't looked. I was in the Team Rocket base, the place I had been kept for so many years. I saw the many metal buildings, many of which were either containment facilities, or laboratories. I saw the barbed metal fence, which surrounded the complex at all times.

As I looked around some more, I heard a ruckus to my left. Suddenly, alarms started to ring through the complex, as red lights started to flash around me. I started to panic. What was going on? Had they found me? Would I be captured again?

As these thoughts ran through my head, I heard the sound of more yelling, this time getting closer. I heard someone yell, "Stop him!" as someone ran around the nearest corner. My breath caught in my throat as I saw the person race towards me. I rubbed my eyes, hoping that what I was seeing was just an illusion, but what I was seeing was real.

The person running towards me was……me.

I saw myself running towards me. I wondered why the other me hadn't freaked out at the sight of himself. Not even trying to stop, he…me…HIM, was about to collide with his doppelganger. I braced myself for another impact.

Once again, there was no impact. Seconds before, my body became almost see through, like a ghost. Instead of colliding, he passed straight through me, not even seeming to notice me. As my body once again became solid, I saw several Rocket grunts run out from the same corner. Not wanting another phasing episode, I jumped out of the way as they passed me.

Quickly getting up, I followed them, even more questions running through my head. Why hadn't they noticed me? What was the deal with that whole transparent thing and, more importantly, Why were there two of me!?!

Still trailing behind the grunts, I watched the events unfold. The second me was heading straight for the gate, ready to leap over it. As I neared it, I saw one of the grunts pull something out of his pocket. It looked like some kind of control…

It was then that it hit me. This was the memory of my escape from Team Rocket's hideout, the last night I could remember before coming to the city. The whole thing was playing before me, with me being the onlooker. If I was right, that remote controlled the security functions of the gate, the one thing that kept anyone from escaping. As I neared the gate, the grunt hit the button.

Nothing happened. He hit the button again, and still nothing happened. He slammed the remote with his fist, and still nothing happened. By this point, I had reached the gate and leapt over it, into freedom. As they raced towards the gate, I held something in my hand.

It was the remote. The _real _remote. My plan had been to steal the main control remote from the admin that night, which was an easy task. Even though each grunt had a remote to operate the gate, only the admins had total control over it.

As the grunts neared the gate, I hit the ON switch, sparking the gate into life. They didn't have enough time to react, as they slammed into the gate. Sparks shot from them, as their hair started to stand on end, and the power of the gate held them there like glue. It would take twenty minutes at least to fix it, time I planned to use to escape.

As the other me ran off, I ran to the gate, passing right through. As this was a memory of what had already happened, nothing here could hurt me and nothing I did would change what would happen. Catching up with the past me, we both disappeared behind the rocks and trees that surrounded the base.

My heart started to race as I followed behind. Even though this was only a memory, I still felt the thrill I had felt the first time. The thrill of finally escaping from that evil group.

I continued to run, for what felt like forever. I figured at least an hour had passed, giving me a good head start and a higher chance of escaping. I ducked under fallen trees, jumped over high rocks and anything else I could to make it harder to catch up to me.

As I leapt over another high rock, I stopped in my tracks, remembering what lay ahead of me. Unfortunately, the other me didn't know what lay ahead, until it was too late. He reached a steep hill, layered with sharp, pointed rocks. Unable to stop in time, he hurtled down the hill. I ran over to see what was happening.

For the first time, I saw the actual pain I went through as I rolled down the hill. Before, I had only felt it but now, I was seeing it in action. I hit rocks, broken branches and bumps as I rolled straight down. I rolled down the hill so fast, that several of the rocks caused scratches and marks to appear on my armour. Several spikes hit the back of my head, where my armour was weaker.

After a few more seconds of punishment, I hit a small ramp, which sent me flying into the air. I hit a nearby tree with my back, slid down to the ground, and collapsed, now motionless. Quickly, I climbed down the jagged hill and stepped over to my past self's motionless body.

I tried to wake him up, but my hands just passed right through him. What was going to happen now? Would I be recaptured, only to escape again? Everything from this point on was what I couldn't remember, so what happened next would be anyone's guess.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of a twig snap from behind me. Sweat started to pour down my face, as I heard the sound of footsteps, getting closer and closer. Moments later, something big stepped into the clearing. It took me a moment to realise what it was, and when I did, a small glimmer of hope started to swell up inside me.

It was Pringston! The Hariyama I had seen in one of my memory flashes. And if he was here, that meant…

My question was soon answered, as a young woman stepped out from behind him. She was wearing a long, crimson coloured dress. A large earring hung from each ear, and the rings on her fingers glinted in the sun. She looked like she was dressed for a party, rather then walking through the forest.

"Pringston, what is I…." She grew silent as she saw me. She seemed to take a moment to look me over, wondering what I was. After a moment, she turned to Pringston.

"Carry him to the house." Was all she said before she started walking away. Not wanting to get left behind, Pringston bent down, picked my lifeless body up in its huge hands, and started walking behind his trainer. Wanting to see what would happen next, I followed behind them.

We had only been walking for a few minutes, when Pringston and the woman stopped. I looked up at what they were looking at and gasped. It was an enormous house! The house looked like it had three floors, and the whole place looked like it was almost made of diamonds. I walked up closer and saw that it was really marble, sparkled to almost look like a mirror.

As we walked into the house, I was still in awe at the magnificence of the house. I was so distracted, that I didn't even notice them shut the door, which I simply walked through. Still following them, they walked up the steps towards a large wall of doors, each leading to a different room.

After passing at least ten doors, the woman stopped. Grabbing a ring of keys, she looked through them before finally selecting the right one. Slipping it into the lock, she unlocked the door with an almost silent "click".

Pushing open the door, we walked into a small bedroom. It had a one person bed on the far wall, a table and several chairs in the centre of the room, a wall clock, a dresser in the corner and a door next to it, which I guessed led to a closet. Pringston stepped into the room and gently placed me on the bed. Once my unconscious body was settled in, they both stepped out, quietly closing the door behind them.

Taking a seat (luckily I didn't pass through the chair!) I started to think things out.

Here I was, living out the events that had been flashing before my eyes and in my dreams for the last two weeks. I knew this would give me answers to the many questions, but what about after that?

Would I be stuck here, living out my um… afterlife (I had to face the fact that I was indeed, dead) in an endless loop, for all eternity? Or would it all just disappear, along with me? What was in my future?

I tried to push these thought from my head as I figured out what to do. From what I remembered from my memory flash, the clock had read 4:30 when I had awoken. Looking at the clock on the wall, I saw that it was 2:45 now. That gave me almost two hours to check out this house even more.

Getting up from the chair, I stepped through the door, into the huge hallway. As I started walked past room after room, I got a strange sense of déjà vu, like…

My trail of thought was interrupted by an odd smell in the air. I also heard the sound of chopping, along with…humming?

Wondering what it was, a followed the sounds and smells to a nearby room. Looking in, I saw that I was in a huge kitchen, complete with a fridge and freezer, oven, stove, everything you would normally find in a kitchen. Looking around, I saw Pringston chopping something up on the counter, while the well-dressed woman was mixing something in a big bowl, humming as she went.

A moment later, I heard a loud "BEEP!" coming from the oven. Without even missing a beat, Pringston placed down his knife, pulled open the oven and, using his big hands like a pair of oven mitts, pulled something from the still hot oven.

Placing it on the table, he got back to his chopping. Looking over, I saw a plate of what looked like pepperoni pizza. Without even thinking, I reached for a slice, only to have my hand pass right through it. I knew this was a only image of what had already happened, but my mouth still watered for a something to eat…

As they continued cooking, they started to talk. I could understand what Pringston was saying, so I wasn't missing anything from a conversation.

"I wonder if that young man is okay?"

"_I was wondering the same thing myself Miss Elizabeth."_

So, her name was Elizabeth. What a nice name…I seemed to blank out for a minute, as I started to marvel at how beautiful she was. I saw how her flawless skin seemed to almost glow, her gentle hands so delicately mixing the food together. She seemed almost like an angel…so why couldn't I remember her!

My marvelling of beauty was suddenly replaced by the feeling of rage. All this had happened after I fell down that steep hill, and all I remembered was later waking up near a lake, seemingly miles away from the forest. Some of the questions I had at that moment were slowly being answered, which still bags the question, "What had happened to make me forget all this?"

I decided I had done enough exploring, so I started back to the room where my unconscious body still lay. But I had forgotten one thing: which room I was in. Still having at least a half-hour till my body woke up, I figured I'd check every room till I found the right one.

Looking in the first room, I saw a walk-in closet. Next room, another bedroom. Room #3, bathroom. Rooms 4-8, more bedrooms and bathroom. After passing yet another empty bedroom, I was starting to wonder why she had placed me in that specific room, when there were maybe a dozen other bedrooms I could be sleeping in right now. Still looking for my room, I stuck my head in the tenth door…and was shocked by what lay before me.

I was looking into a shrine. It was still a bedroom, but with photos everywhere, several candles still smoking on the table, clothes still hanging from the dresser and the bed still looking like someone had just slept in it. Stepping into the room, I looked at the nearest photo to the door. All the photos were placed into expensive looking frames, all looking like they were dusted regularly.

In the frame, I saw a picture of a young boy, maybe around age 5 or 6.. He was smiling at the camera, standing in a freshly jumped in pile of leafs. A Shroomish was standing on his head, smiling as well. Looking at the next frame, I once again saw the image of the young boy, but this time, he was standing by a local swimming pool. This time, he was holding a flopping Goldeen in his hands.

In ever picture, I saw the same boy, standing or playing with some kind of Pokemon, ranging from racing a Poochyena, to playing hide and seek with a Kecleon, to riding a Lairon. Also, in every picture, the boy was smiling, looking like he was having the time of his life. On the back of the picture with the boy riding the Lairon, I saw something written. Looking closer, I saw the words, "To my son, Eric."

Her son? Elizabeth had a son? Or…had a son by the look of this shrine. No one would make something this devoted unless they had wanted to remember something close to them. This was raising even more questions, questions I hoped to find the answer to.

**End Chapter**

_Had a little trouble writng this one. Hope you liked it!_


	7. Nature's Beauty

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon in anyway.**

I stifled a yawn as I rested against the wall leading into the kitchen/Dining room (Which I thankfully didn't pass through!). It had been at least and hour since my body had woken up, then had a talk with Elizabeth. At the moment, they…we…my past self and Elizabeth were eating some of the huge buffet she had cooked, in complete and utter silence.

Even though this was the memory of me and it was answering some of the many questions I had, I still found it slightly boring. As I waited for something, I contemplated how it had come to this. How I had went from someone on the run, living out my life how best I could, to being dead and reliving the many events of my past. As I thought about this, another thought came to mind.

One day while I was living in the city, it had poured for hours. Having nothing to do, I had to wait out the rain in what I called a home. After several hours of just sitting there, and pacing back and forth, I heard something fall through the grate of the lower part of the structure. Walking over to pick it up, I saw that it was an old and torn book. On the cover, I could just make out the title: "The Do's and Don't of Karma."

With nothing better to do, I had started reading. Several of the pages had been torn, but most of the bock was still there. I wondered why someone had thrown it out as I started reading through. I read that Karma was some kind of unexplainable force, which effects your life from what you do. If you did something bad, you would be punished for it and if you did good things, good things were suppose to happen to you.

I had flipped through the book, reading here and there before the rain had stopped. After that, I had taken the book to a second hand store to see if I could get anything for it. They gave me 10 for it, and that was the last time I ever thought about it, until now.

As the thought entered my head, I heard the sound of plates clanging from the table. Looking up, I saw that both Elizabeth and the past me had finished eating. Without saying anything, Pringston walked up, picked up the remaining dishes and proceeded to put them away. Once the table was cleared, Elizabeth prepared to speak.

" My, you sure were hungry." Now where had I heard someone say that before?

The past me was probably still unsure about talking to her, as he remained completely quiet. Trying to advert her eyes, he looked towards the window, starring out into the forest.

A smile spread across her face, as she probably realised how nervous the past me was talking to people. Hell, I was still nervous whenever I talked to someone! She turned to Pringston, seemed to gesture towards him, before pushing her chair out and standing up.

"I have an idea. How about we go for a nice walk?"

The past me jerked away from the window and gave her a scared look that seemed to say, "Outside? Are you nuts!?". I quickly answered with, "Outside? I'm…. I'm not so sure…". I seemed to be struggling for the right words. She noticed the look of fear plastered on my face, as she seemed to suddenly go deep into thought. Several seconds later, she snapped her fingers, like she just got an idea, before walking towards the main hall.

Looking up from where I was, I saw her walk towards the hall closet. Opening it up, I almost gasped as I saw that it was really a whole room full of clothes, not just a small space. But considering the huge house I was in, why would I think otherwise? After a few minutes of rummaging around, she walked out with an armful of fabric, which I saw the past me look up at as she came back into the kitchen.

"Here, take this." With that, she unfolded the piece of cloth, holding it up infront of her. I stood straight up as I saw what it was she was holding. It was my cloak! It was the same thing I had been wearing through everything that had happened to me. It had the long sleeves that covered up my entire armour covered arms, it was long enough that it covered my whole body, and it even had the hood that seemed to blanket my face in shadows. The only difference between the two was that this one looked brand new, like it had never been worn before today.

The past me was slightly shocked, that she would even think of giving me something like this. Even if it was just a cloak, even it looked rather expensive. He looked at the floor, not sure if he should take it or not. This was soon decided as she tossed it at him, smiling. Not wanting to refuse such a kind gift, he wrapped it around his shoulders, the cloak covering up everything except for his head.

"Still unsure about that walk?" she said in a nice but almost taunting voice. With nothing to stop him, he got up an answered her question with a quick nod. She turned to Pringston as the past me got up.

"Pringston, you stay here and watch the house while I'm gone."

Pringston seemed worried that his master would go out unattended. "_But my lady, It's to dangerous!" _Even though she couldn't understand him, she could tell from his body language that he was worried for her safety. She just smiled at him and said, "You worry to much." That didn't put him at ease much, but he wasn't about to go against her orders, so he just stepped back as she walked into the main hall towards the door. As the past me got up, Pringston turned his way and glared right at him.

"_You had better make sure my mistress is safe, or you'll regret it."_ The past me gave a weak smile before stepping out into to the hall. As I got up to follow them, I looked behind me and saw that Pringston still had a scary look on his face. As I stepped out, I got the feeling that he didn't like me one bit.

Following right behind them, we started are walk through the forest. I saw that the past me kept looking over his shoulder as we started walking, before placing the hood over his head. Even with his face obscured, I could still tell that he was worried that Rocket Grunts could leap out at any moment.

After ten minutes of walking, nothing leapt from the bushes, unless you count the occasional Nidoran or Tailow passing by. As we continued walking, I started to notice something. Instead of the usual rugged path, we appeared to be walking on a smooth dirt path. I looked up at her and wondered, _"Where is she leading me?"_

I didn't have to wait long for my answer, as I soon saw a clearing up ahead. As we stepped into the clearing, I didn't expect what lay before me. She had led me into a small village, with several small vendors around. Except for the Pokecenter, there was no urbanisation what so ever. I saw several people sitting outside, enjoying the sun, while some were tending to their gardens.

I continued to follow behind them, as she walked up to one of the small stores, run by a young lady. She smiled as she saw Elizabeth approach.

"Ah, Elizabeth. What brings you here?"

"Just picking up a few things. Has my order come in yet?"

"Yes it has actually. Let me go get it for you." The woman turned around and stepped behind a pair of curtains. A few moments later, she emerged carrying a package in her hands. Placing it on the counter, she pulled out a form, which Elizabeth started to sign. As she did that, the woman looked up from the counter and stared directly at me.

"And who's this with you?" Even though she couldn't see me, I broke out into a cold sweat, which I'm guessing was happening to the past me as well.

Elizabeth looked up from the papers and calmly responded with, "He's just a friend who's decided to come down for a visit. Speaking of which," She turned to me, "Could you help me carry this home? It's to heavy for me to get it home myself."

Probably wondering if all she brought me down here was to work for her, the past me reached out and grabbed the crate. He didn't seem to be having any trouble carrying it, which was probably because it was either not that heavy, or because I was just strong. Shortly after, Elizabeth finished the paper work and turned to me.

"Alright. Let's go." With the crate in hand, I started to follow her back to the house. As we were heading back, several questions entered my mind: 1: "Did she only bring me down here to help her carry this home?" 2: "What was in the crate I was currently carrying?" and 3: "Why would Team Rocket build a base so close to this town?" Their base was probably only a few minute drives from this town, too close if you asked me.

The walk home seemed to take less time then the walk to the town, as we soon arrived at the home. I saw Pringston look up as we entered, still giving me that strange glare that made me worried for my safety. Not even stopping to take her shoes off, she started walking down the hall. Trying to avoid Pringston's eyes, the past me followed right behind her, crate still in hand.

Walking to the back of the huge house, we eventually came to the back door, probably leading into the backyard. As she opened the door, both me and the past me gasped. It wasn't the size of the yard that surprised us, I was half expecting that actually considering the size of the house. No, it was what was in the backyard that took our breaths away.

It looked like we had stepped into an immense rainbow. Almost every inch of the yard, save for a small gazebo near the fall wall, was covered in flowers of every colour you could possibly think of. As I followed her through the yard, I watched my step, even though I couldn't crush any of the flowers even if I wanted to.

"It's…beautiful.' I heard my exact look-a-like say as we made our way through the flowers.

"I'm glad you like it. My son thinks so as well."

"Your son?" The past me said the exact thing I was thinking, but I was more confused then him. I thought her son was dead…why else would she have a shrine to him in a locked room on the second floor?

"He's sure to be happy. He doesn't normally get visits except for me and Sakura."

"Sakura? Who's Sakura?" The question had just left my mouth when I heard the sound of flowers rustling behind me. I turned, and came face to face with one of the most beautiful girls I had ever seen. Her skin seemed to be almost glowing, shining a bright gold. Her long blonde with pink streaked hair flowed past her shoulders, moving ever so slightly in a small wind. She was wearing a pink dress, almost the same colour as her hair. A pair of red hair ribbons were positioned at the top of her head.

I was so taken back by her beauty, that I almost dropped the box I was carrying. I regained me cool a mere second before it slipped from my grip and hit the ground. She seemed to notice this and started to giggle a little.

"Hello. I'm Sakura."

My lips seemed to not be working as I started to speak, only to start to stammer. "H…H…H…Hi…I'm…I'm…" I let out a small laugh to try and hide my nervousness. "I…I didn't see you when we came in…out…er…."

"Well, I kind of blend in with the surroundings. You know you don't have to wear that cloak out here. It's not like I'll turn in my own kind."

The past me was obviously taken back by her response. "Own kind? You mean…"

"Took you long enough. Yes, I'm a Pokemorph just like you. A Cherrim to be exact." As she said this, Elizabeth walked up from behind me, standing next to Sakura.

"This was who I was telling you about before. Oddly enough, I found you both in the forest, though Sakura wasn't as afraid to talk as you were. Since then, she's been helping me around the house, especially out here."

"Speaking of which, why don't I take those from you?" Reaching out, she grabbed the box from my hands and placed it on the ground. Opening it up, I saw that it was filled to the top with several different coloured flowers. Picking up a few, she walked past me towards the far wall of the garden. It was then that I noticed something that I hadn't noticed before.

Near the far wall, was a tombstone. The past me walked up to get a closer look, me right behind him. The tombstone looked old, at least a few years. Even though it was covered in dents and scratches, I noticed that it looked like someone had just polished it. Infront of the stone was a small picture frame, holding a picture exactly like one of the ones I saw in the locked room. The difference was that this one just had a picture of the boy, smiling as wide as he could go.

Calmly, Sakura walked up to the tombstone and started to plant some of the new flowers. As I continued to look it over, I saw that the flowers planted here were more beautiful then the rest, some looked very exotic, like they had come from far away.

"This is…" I was at a loss for words as I saw. Elizabeth walked up beside me, a sad look on her face.

"He was young, as happy as could be. He had dreams of growing up to be a famous Pokemon trainer. Whenever he was with them, they always seemed to make him the happiest boy alive."

"How?"

"He was born with a rare disease. Doctors said he only had a 1/50 chance of living. Even with his death already decided, he looked at the next day with a smile. He was even happier the day I found Sakura. He had always wanted a sister, and Sakura was more then happy to fill that role."

"What about his father?"

"Hmph. His dad left shortly after he was born. He didn't want to have to take care of a sickly child. Frankly, I was glad the day he left. He never seemed right in his mind."

As she finished telling her son's story, Sakura had finished planting the flowers. As she stood up, a green aura started to surround her body. Raising her hand, the flowers became surrounded by the same aura. They suddenly perked up, before suddenly growing to twice their size, full bloom.

"There. Finished." Done, she turned to me. "Now, you know my name, but I don't know yours."

I saw the past me stammer at the question. I wasn't sure if he had accepted the name Elizabeth had given him yet. "I'm…I'm…I'm Silas." He reached his hand out, which she soon shook. I looked over and saw Elizabeth suddenly start smiling, happy that I had accepted the name she gave me.

"Why don't I go get us something to drink?" Elizabeth suddenly spoke up. Before either of us could say anything, she suddenly ran into the house, leaving me alone with Sakura.

"Why don't we take a seat. You can tell me more about yourself while we wait." Not wanting to reject her kind invitation, I followed her over to the gazebo before sitting opposite her. As we sat down, I took that time to admire how beautiful she was. She was like a flower, beautiful in every way.

"So, "I started, trying to make conversation, "How did you come to live here?"

As I asked the question, I saw a sad look appear on her face. I immediately realised that I had asked for something that she would prefer not to talk about.

"I'm….I'm sorry. You don't have to tell me if you don't…" She cut in before I could finish.

"No, I'm fine. But promise me this. I tell you about me, you tell me everything about yourself. Deal?"

"Deal."

"Ok…Before I came here…I was treated like a freak. I had been in a travelling circus my whole life, not knowing where I had lived before. They called my "daughter nature" forcing me to make plants grow or to do tricks just for their paying customers. They treated me more like an animal, keeping me in a cage, barely feeding me and not once did they give me any of the money that I had made."

"That's horrible!"

"Ya, but that was nothing compared to what they did to me if a day was bad. If I made close to nothing, they would punish me. Leave me without food for days, keeping me awake for days on end, even whipping me if it was really bad. I was literally in a living hell, working for a bunch of greedy pigs who only cared about the money they were making and not who was making it."

"Eventually we arrived here. It's a small town and almost no one came to see. The ringleader got very angry and prepared to whip me. Only this day, he left the door open. As he went to count his money, I escaped. It wasn't long before he realised what had happened and came after me. He brought several others from the circus, all carrying weapons. They all chased after me, before I tumbled into the forest. What happened next…is something I'll never forget."

"It didn't take them too long to catch up to me. It was at that moment that the Ringleader decided that I was more trouble then I was worth. I still remember his exact words: "You've reached your usefulness. Time to dispose of you with the rest of the trash." As he said that, he pulled a gun from his pocket, fully loaded. I closed my eyes, waiting for the end, when it didn't come. Opening my eyes, I saw the shadow of someone standing over me. When I looked up, I saw Elizabeth standing over me. She told them to stop, but they just laughed at her. They stopped laughing though when Pringston stepped out from behind the trees."

"As he took care of them, Elizabeth helped me too my feet. She had witnessed everything, she was actually coming to save me before I escaped. It was then that she invited me to her home, and I've been here ever since. The Ringleader was caught by the nearby police for abuse and arrested."

I remained silent as I let it all sink in. She had been through so much, and yet she was still smiling. As she finished, I remembered the promise I had made. She had told me her story, now it was my turn to tell her mine. I was about to speak, when I heard the sound of a door opening behind me. I turned and saw Elizabeth and Pringston coming out, carrying three mugs of hot chocolate.

As they came closer, Sakura whispered into my ear, "Tell me later." Before accepting the hot chocolate that Elizabeth handed her. I did the same as she handed me mine. As she took a seat, she asked, "Did anything happen while I was gone?"

Sakura quickly answered with a simple "No." before taking a sip of her hot chocolate. As the past me did the same, I started to take a walk through the flowers, stopping at the tombstone to pay my respects. As I sat infront of the grave, I thought I heard the sound of bushes rustling. Looking over, I saw a flash of red for a second, before it was gone. I didn't know why, but just that moment I got a bad feeling in my gut

(Before I end this chapter, I will answer a question that I just know someone will ask: No, I did not base her off Sakura from _Naruto._ Sakura means "Cherry blossom" and Cherrim is based off a cherry tree, so it seemed like an appropriate name.)

**End Chapter**


	8. Discovered!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.**

A guy could go slightly insane if kept like this. I had now been living in this world of the past for almost a week. Or at least I think it's been a week, everyday felt either longer or shorter then the last. What was more was that everything seemed a bit…repetitive. The past few days had started out the same way: wake up, get something to eat, went out to help Elizabeth, then go spend some time with Sakura. Although, I rather liked the time spent with her. Even though she couldn't see me, I still felt myself blush every time she walked by.

Even though we spent at least an hour together a day, I still hadn't told her about my past. I almost forgot until she reminded the past me a few days later. She had an almost angry look on her face as she said, "You aren't planning to squirm out of our deal are you?" I told her I'd tell her when I could, but I never seemed to have to time.

Even if it was slightly repetitive, I was could tell that the past me was starting to like living here. For once in my life, he felt like he belonged. A place I could call home. But even though he was happy, I still had that bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. Several times, I kept getting the feeling that I was being watched. Especially when I was outside.

It was the middle of the night, on the forth, of fifth day. Even though I was just an invisible fly on the wall, I still felt the need to sleep. As I was just getting comfy, resting inside the cloth filled wardrobe, I thought I heard movement. Poking my head out, I saw that the past me was still awake. What was more, he was wearing his cloak, which he only wore when he was outside.

"_What was I doing?"_ popped into my head as I stepped out into the room. Still watching him, I saw him walk towards the window. Slowly, he climbed onto the ledge, before leaping off. Running to the window, I saw him land safely in the backyard. My strong legs made it a safe landing.

I soon followed him, wondering what he was doing. He walked towards the centre of the garden, before calling out, "Sakura…Sakura! You here?" He called it a few more times, and still getting no answer. He looked like he was ready to go back, when a voice came from behind him.

"You called?"

Both of us nearly leapt out of our skins as she suddenly appeared behind us. She loved doing that and watching the past me freak out. As I calmed down, I noticed that she looked different. Her once pink hair was now a dark purple, covering most of her face. Her red hair ribbons were gone as well, now replaced by a large red ponytail on the back of her head.

"Sakura! You look…different."

"This is the first time you've ever seen me at night isn't it. Speaking of which, what are you doing out here so late?"

"I decided that it was about time I took you up on my half of the deal."

"You mean…"

"Yep. You told me your story, now it's time to for me tell you mine. Come on, let's take a seat on the gazebo."

Happy that I was finally willing to tell her about my self, she followed the past me over to the gazebo. I stayed a safe distance away; far enough that I could still hear what they were saying. As the past me started to tell his story, I once again got the strange feeling that I was being watched.

Ignoring it, I started to walk through the garden. Even though it was the middle of the night, the flowers all seemed to give off a kind of glow. As I continued to stroll around the garden, I found myself thinking back to the subject of karma. Was being stuck in this world of my memories some kind of punishment for something I had done? I started to knock off everything I could remember doing.

I started my list off with saving that little girl awhile back. Good. But I destroyed a car, then stole another one. Bad, bad. Possibly killed those hunters when I sunk their boats. May be bad. That may have accounted for the shot to the shoulder. I then got an Aipom to trick the hunters so I could escape, which led to him getting caught and tortured. Definitely bad. Help John cutting some firewood. Good. Saving Aipom. Good. Almost getting John and Mary killed. Bad. Saving them. Good.

Recounting, I found I had done more bad things around the time I got shot in the shoulder and passed out on John and Mary's floor. Then after I saved John and Mary, I still had five (maybe 4 1/2) bad things to 4 good things. Adding it up, maybe this was some punishment sent on me by Karma. A little harsh though…

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a sound coming from behind the stone wall separating the garden from the forest. It sounded like running, something obviously bigger then most of the Pokemon I had seen around here. Deciding it was time to investigate, I stepped through the stone wall into the forest.

Hearing more footsteps close-by, I followed the sounds of twigs snapping and the piles of crushed leaves and twigs. After a few minutes of following an obvious trail, I found myself in a large clearing. Looking around, I saw that I wasn't the only person here. A man around the age of 20, 25 was standing with his back to me, gasping for breath. As he turned around, I saw a flash of red on the front of his shirt. For a moment, I thought it was blood, but when I realised what it really was, my breath caught in my throat.

It wasn't blood on his shirt, it was a giant red R. This man was a member of Team Rocket! But what was he doing around here when his base was at least an hour and a halves walk from here.

I got my answer soon enough as a walkie-talkie went off in his pocket. I heard someone yell, "Grunt 425, are you there? What do you have to report?" Reaching into his pocket, he pulled the communicator out and placed it against his ear. Even with his against his head, I could still here what the other guy was saying.

"Yes, this is Grunt 425, and I have good news. I've found him." I heard silence on the other end for a few seconds, before the sound of a surprised man say, "Really? You found him?"

"Yes. He's currently staying near the town of Solculia. What's more, he has no idea that I know he's here. Now is the perfect time to strike."

"Good work Grunt 425. I see a promotion in your future. Now wait for further orders, I'm already sending some men who are stationed near-by. With their help, experiment M-36 will soon be back in our hands."

_Wait a second…experiment M-36? But that's…that's…ME!!_ Experiment M-36 was the name I was given when I was kept at the base. It made it easier to see me as a project then a living breathing being. But if what the man had said was true, then that meant that Elizabeth and Sakura were in danger! Without even a second thought, I hightailed it back towards the house.

Even though this was a memory of the past, I felt that I had to warn them. If they weren't stopped, Sakura could…I pushed that thought from my head as I picked up speed. It only took me a few minutes to reach the garden, still hoping that I had made it in time.

I entered the garden just as the past me had finished telling my story to Sakura. She had a look of sympathy on her face, as I had probably told her about all the pain and suffering I had gone through while I was kept locked up in the base for years. I probably had the same look on my face as she told me her story.

"Wow. I would have never thought that you had been through that much."

"Ya. If I hadn't of escaped, who knows what more they would have put me through."

_I hope I won't have to find out. _Was the only thing I was thinking of as I tried to figure out a way I could warn them about the impending doom. Racing inside, I started to run through the halls, trying to figure out where Elizabeth's room was. My fear was overriding my common sense, for even if I knew where she was, I could do nothing to warn her.

After what felt like forever of searching, I still had not found Elizabeth's room. As I stopped for a moment to rest, a banging noise suddenly rang through the house. I grew silent as I heard the noise again, realising that it was the sound of someone knocking on the front door.

Moments after the second knock, I heard the sound of footsteps coming from the living room. Looking over, I saw Pringston making his way towards the door. I yelled out for him to stop, but of course, he didn't hear me. Grasping the doorknob, he slowly opened the door.

The moment the door was open, he stepped back, like he was shocked by what lay before him. As he took another step, I saw something long and red shoot from the doorway, hit him in the chest and knock him into the staircase. As his body hit the floor, I saw what looked like a red tentacle reel itself back into the doorway. I heard footsteps against marble as the men stepped into the hallway. I saw five grunts file in each carrying a strange looking weapon, before a sixth man walked in, except this guy wasn't a grunt.

He wore a pair of pitch-black sunglasses, hiding his eyes. His purple hair was gelled back and spiked at the back. His rocket uniform was cleaner and better looking then the grunts, the outer shirt reaching down past his waist. He wore a pair of black leather pants, almost identical to the ones I wore. This guy wasn't a grunt, he was an admin. But that wasn't the only thing he was. He was the one who had forced the most experiments on me and he was also the one I stole the main gate control from before my escape. Among all the rockets, he was the one I feared the most.

As they all stepped in, I heard the sound of a door unlocking. Looking up, I saw Elizabeth step out of the room at the far end of the hall, woken up from the ruckus in the hall. She was wearing a bright red nightgown, with gold dragons near the bottom. As she walked down the hall, I heard her call out the Pringston.

"Pringston, what is it? Is something ther…" she stopped talking the moment she reached the staircase. But it wasn't the fact that there were strange men in the room, or that Pringston was lying almost motionless against the wall. No, the moment she reached the stairway, she stared straight at the admin, a shocked look on her face. A smile spread across his face as he saw her standing there.

"Ah, Liz. It's good to see you after all this time."

"How dare you come back here!" she hissed at him. He just chuckled.

"What, after ten years, that's all you can say to me? I'm crushed."

"You're crushed? How do you think I felt when you left me? And Eric…How dare you just walk out on your own son!" I grew silent as those words left her mouth. His son? The admin that I feared so much was Eric's father!?

He let out another evil laugh. "That's history now. Right now I'm here on business. So why don't you make it easy for me and tell me where he is?"

"Where who is?"

"You know who. We know you're hiding M-36 here and we intend to take him back with us."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Now why don't you just take these men and get as far away from here as possible!"

"I'm afraid we can't do that." He gestured to his men before saying in an unemotional voice, "Tear this place apart. Destroy everything until you find him!" It was that moment, that by sheer bad luck, the past me walked into the hallway. The admin smiled once again.

"Well, I see that he's decided to give himself up. This just made my job much easier." He gestured to his men to advance, when suddenly, a ball of black energy struck the ground a few inches infront of them. They all turned, to see Pringston standing back up, a shadow ball in his hand.

"_Run!!" _was all Pringston said as he prepared to fire another shadow ball. Still frozen in fear, the past me didn't budge an inch. When the Shadow ball in Pringston's hand had grown to a well enough size, he tossed it like a baseball. As it neared the Team Rocket grunts, it suddenly curved in mid flight, before flying past me and hitting the other me in the gut, knocking him into a nearby table.

"_Run!!" _Pringston repeated, only more urgent this time. Now freed of my fear based paralysis, the other me quickly got up, before running back to the back yard, his only escape route as the Grunts had the front door blocked. As the Grunts prepared to chase after me, another Shadow ball came flying through the air, sending two of the Grunts flying back. One of remaining Grunts readied his weapon, aiming it towards Pringston. Pulling the trigger, a long red energy tentacle shot from the barrel of the weapon, heading straight for Pringston.

With great reflexes, Pringston dodged the energy tentacle before grabbing it in his right hand and pulling with great force. As he pulled, the Grunt pressed a button on the weapon, causing the tentacle to break off at the source. With the connection cut, the energy tentacle completely disappeared. He prepared to fire another shadow ball as the rest of the Grunts readied their weapons.

As Pringston prepared another attack, the Admin reached into his pocket and pulled something out of his pocket. What he held in his hand closely resembled a grenade, even though it was missing a pin. As he held it up, an evil grin appeared on his face.

"Try and dodge this!" was all he said before he flung the device towards Pringston. As it came towards him, a snapping noise could be heard as the device opened up in mid-air. It now looked like four sharp claws attached to a base. Before Pringston could react, the strange device latched itself onto Pringston's right arm. Seconds later, Pringston let out a scream of pain, as volts of electricity started to flow from the device into Pringston's body, surrounding him in a bright yellow aura. Seconds later, Pringston's unconscious and smoking body hit the ground.

"Pringston!" yelled Elizabeth as she raced down the stairs towards his unconscious body. As she knelt down to see if he was still alive, she looked up and looked right into the Admin's eyes.

"How could you do this Aaron!" She screamed at him. He just scoffed at her remark.

"Aaron…what a weak name. I gave up that name long ago when I joined Team Rocket."

"But you were always so kind and considerate. What happened to you?"

"What happened to me? I saw the truth. The moment Eric was diagnosed I realised that there was no justice in this world. Only power, the power to make what ever you wished a reality. In finding this power, I threw away my old shell of a self, to become the person you see before you. The Aaron you once knew is dead, now there is only Admin Venom!" He let out another evil laugh as he revealed his true name. As he finished laughing, he snapped his fingers and gestured to his men. Bringing up their weapons, they all fired off tentacles of energy, surrounding Pringston until a cocoon of energy had covered him completely. With one flick of a switch, Pringston's body was brought up, suspended by the tentacles of energy.

"This one will make a lovely test subject for our experiments." Chuckled Admin Venom.

"No!!" screamed Elizabeth, not wanting her friend to become a specimen in some experiment. Grabbing a pole broken off from a coat rack Pringston had crashed into, she charged towards the Admin. With one full swing, she brought it down towards his head.

What happened next, was something no one expected. As the pole came towards him, Admin Venom moved with almost in-human agility. Before the pole even came close to hitting him, he grabbed it in his left hand. Tightening his grip, iron pole split in half, like it was made of wood. With the same speed, he thrust his right hand out and grabbed Elizabeth by the neck, lifting her off the ground.

She gasped for breathe, trying to loosen the grip on her throat by scratching his hands, but his grip only seemed to get tighter.

"What…what are you…doing?" She choked out as she tried to breathe with his hands on her throat.

"I'm afraid you've been a thorn in our side for too long. Rescuing experiments that come through here, I'm surprised it took this long to catch you!"

"They were humans too!"

"Humans? Don't make me laugh. They were just tools for us to use in battle. There was nothing human about them. And you sought to save them, how very noble of you. But also foolish, and now is the time for you to be dealt with…" He trailed off as he reached into his pocket. Seconds later, he pulled out a loaded gun.

"…for good."

I turned away as the next events took place. All I heard was a gasp, before the sound of a trigger being pulled, followed by a loud bang. I heard the sound of blood spatter, striking the walls all around me. The sound of something heavy being dropped could soon be heard, before the entire hallway was filled…with the sound of maniacal laughter.

I turned back around, and shut my eyes almost immediately. As the sound of maniacal laughter stopped, I heard Venom speak to his men.

"You two take the subject to the car, while the rest of you follow me. Also, once you're finished loading the "cargo"…torch this place." They all responded with a "Yes sir!" Before I heard footsteps running off in different directions.

"Soon, " I heard Venom speak up, "Soon project M-36 will be back were he belongs. With us, the great Team Rocket!" I could no longer listen, as I raced from the room towards the backyard. As I entered into the backyard, I saw that it was completely vacant. I knew the past me had run, but what about Sakura? What had happened to her? Was she okay? Oh…how I hoped she was alright…

**End Chapter**


End file.
